South Africa vs Sri Lanka, Third ODI : Preview and Playing XI

After hammering Sri Lanka in the first two ODI's, Proteas will now look to clinch the series in the third match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on Sunday, August 5. The hosts' record against South Africa in the last ten ODI matches is pretty disappointing as they've now lost all ten games against them. Now the South Asian nation need a win, not only to gain some confidence but also to keep the series alive.

In their recent encounter on August 1, Sri Lanka managed to put up just 244/8 on the board after electing to bat first and then failed to defend that total as South Africa raced to a four-wicket win in just 42.5 overs.

South Africa: The visitors went into this series on the back of a 0-2 drubbing in tests against hosts and are now slowly getting themselves back on the winning track with comfortable wins in the first two ODI's at Pallekele. After winning the first two fixtures without even breaking a sweat, they would be tempted to stick with the same winning combination.

With the bat, Quinton de Kock is looking in terrific touch with scores of 47 and 87 in the first and the second ODI respectively and he looks set for another big knock here. While skipper Faf du Plessis with scores of 47 and 49 respectively also looked fluent in his strokes and one can expect him to produce a quality innings on Sunday. Only Aiden and Miller have not been able to perform in this series so far and will be hoping for a turnaround in next fixture.

With the ball, the team will look to their seamers Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo to deliver the goods. Rabada has taken five wickets in the two matches including a four-fer in the first match while Ngidi has four in the series. While Phehlukwayo was the standout performer for South Africa last time with figures of 3-44 from nine overs.

Expected Playing XI: Faf du Plessis (C), Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Willem Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram.

Sri Lanka Cricket Team

Sri Lanka: The hosts have been outplayed in all three facets of the game and they have not been able to push Proteas at all in this series. Scores of 193/10 and 244/8 respectively in the two matches clearly reflect the struggles the Asian Islanders have had against a lethal African bowling attack.

With the bat, Kusal Perera and Thisara Perera scored 81 and 44 respectively in the first game while Dickwella and Mathews cracked half-centuries in the second. Skipper Mathews will want these batsmen to continue their good form. Though they have got some individual performances but they haven't been able to click as a unit which has been the main reason behind Sri Lanka's loss in both fixtures.

With the ball, Akila Dananjaya has been the star performer for Sri Lanka with the ball. The off-spinner has taken three wickets each in the two matches and he is likely to cause problems for South Africa once again. While his bowling partner Thisara Perera has 12 wickets in as many matches at Pallekele and he together with Suranga Lakmal will form the main threat in this Sri Lankan pace attack.

Expected Playing XI: Angelo Mathews (c), Shehan Jayasuriya, Thisara Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Prabath Jayasuriya, Kasun Rajitha, Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga, Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera.