The opening World Cup quarter-final takes place on Wednesday when South Africa face Sri Lanka in Sydney, Australia.
Sri Lanka have won the toss and have elected to bat first! They have made a very interesting change as Tharindu Kaushal will play his first 50-over game. He replaces the injured Herath in the side. South Africa have made a couple of changes. Philander and Behardien make way for du Plessis and Abbott.
The Proteas have never won a knockout fixture at a World Cup. The Lankans find them in a similar territory. They have not missed out on a semi final birth since 1999. They will look to seal their fourth consecutive birth. This can also be the last World Cup game for the likes of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Dilshan and Malinga and hence they will be eager to put in the best. Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, the tournament's leading scorer after the group stage, will hope to add to his already impressive tally of 496 runs in the day-night fixture at the SCG.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers has seen his team score over 400 twice in the tournament so far, though they have also disappointed with the bat in defeats to India and Pakistan.
The pressure is on both teams as they look to book a place in the Semis.
PITCH REPORT:
It is a new pitch and a different one than the usual. It looks rock solid with a good even covering of grass. There are a few little cracks here and there which can be exploited by the spinners but other than that it is a better. Any batsman will have to be aware of the swing and extra bounce early on. Once in, it can be a carnage.
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