When South Africa and Sri Lanka take the field tomorrow at SCG, you can expect two Goliaths going head-on in a battle whose outcome no one can accurately predict.

South Africa face Sri Lanka in the first quarter-final match tomorrow at SCG

Another reason why the winner of this match is difficult to forecast is because the last 16 matches between the two teams have ended with both winning 8 games each.

These stats confirm that cricket, indeed, is an unpredictable sport.

Where the outcome of other quarter-final ties can be foreseen, the bout between South Africa and Sri Lanka is sure to break millions of hearts with one team being ousted from the competition.

This match will also see AB de Villiers and Kumar Sangakkara battling for the coveted No.1 spot in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen. In this tournament, Sangakkara is the leading run scorer with 496 runs. De Villiers, on the other hand, is third with 417 runs.

AB de Villiers and Kumar Sangakkara will be key players for their respective team

Former West Indies captain Brian Lara said, “South Africa vs. Sri Lanka is maybe the best quarter final game we could see and I’m looking forward to that. I will be there.”

And this is highly likely.

Both South Africa and Sri Lanka enter this match with confident wins in their respective last group match over UAE and Scotland, respectively.

When it comes to deciding the winner of this match, you have to be very brave to place a bet on South Africa considering their history in the later stage of the World Cup tournaments. Sri Lanka, though are one-time winners (1996) and 2011 ICC World Cup finalists.

The match between South Africa and Sri Lanka during 2003 WC ended in a tie knocking out the Proteas

The pitch at SCG is ideal for spin and it is no secret that the team from Asia would be hoping that their ace spinner Rangana Herath is fit for this match. If reports are anything to go by, the left-arm spinner is likely to miss the clash due to a finger injury. The Proteas will be relying on their first pick right-arm leg spinner Imran Tahir.

In the World Cups, both teams have met on 4 occasions prior to this bout. South Africa holds a slight edge over their Asian adversary with 2-1 lead, while the match played during the 2003 edition ended in a tie.

South Africa hold a 2-1 edge over Sri Lanka in World Cups

Sri Lankan bowlers would be keen to demolish the South African batting line-up including the in-form AB de Villiers. The Proteas, too, will have their eyes set on the record-breaking Kumar Sangakkara, in the process preventing him from scoring his fifth consecutive ODI century.

With players like Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, to name a few, competing against Lasith Malinga, Dilshan and Angelo Mathews and others, the match is too tough to call.

Nevertheless, South Africa would aim at getting rid of the ‘chokers’ tag and Sri Lanka would love to make it to another semi-final at the World Cup tournament.

The post South Africa vs Sri Lanka Preview – The Battle Of The Goliaths appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

Yesterday, after scoring 124 against Scotland, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara became the first player to score four consecutive centuries in ODIs.

The 37-year-old former captain played a handy knock in his team’s victory over their European rivals.

Playing at Hobart, Sri Lanka went on to score 363-9 and dismissed Scotland for 215 in the process winning the match by 148 runs.

Kumar Sangakkara became the first player to score four consecutive ODI centuries

During the match, Sangakkara also achieved his 500^th dismissal in one-day internationals.

Sri Lanka and cricket fans around the world alike are wondering whether this is the right time for the southpaw to quit cricket. The batsman/wicket keeper had spoken about retiring from all forms of cricket late in 2014.

News about current Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews going down on his knees to beg the prolific batsman to not retire after the World Cup was also making the rounds.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews with Kumar Sangakkara

Sangakkara felt humbled at the gesture and the wishes that came from around the world from cricketing fans. He, however, said that he had no plans to reconsider his decision of quitting the game.

In his defence, he also said, “I’ve been batting and keeping for a long time, it’s getting harder and the joints are creaking and aching, but I consider myself lucky to be part of a great team”.

Overall, the Sri Lankan batsman has scored five centuries in World Cup, only one century behind India’s Sachin Tendulkar.

When asked about records, Sangakkara said, “Records do matter, I think. I would love to say records never enter my mind, but they do. There are certain things that you chase – you try to keep those goals. They are not the only things you chase, but as long as you do the right things those things will fall into place and come along”.

Sangakkara is also the second-highest run getter in one-day cricket (14,189). Only Sachin Tendulkar is ahead of him with 18, 426 runs.

Highlights of Kumar Sangakkara’s ODI career

If anyone were to take a poll as to whether Sangakkara should retire from the game at this moment, many cricketers would vote for “No”.

 “Quit while you are ahead”, goes a popular English idiom. Kumar Sangakkara seems to be taking this seriously.

Sri Lanka are at second position in Pool A and have made it to the quarter-finals; their opponent is yet to be decided.

The post Is It Right For Kumar Sangakkara To Retire Despite His Brilliant Form In The Ongoing World Cup? appeared first on Youngisthan.in.