Big picture
Over the past week, South Africa have had much more to confront than their opponents on the cricket field. If you haven’t followed closely, here’s a quick recap.
The good news for South Africa, hopefully, is that they can now put the issue behind them. Difficult conversations have been had. Captain Temba Bavuma, who has always been adamant that the door remained open for de Kock, can now have South Africa’s best batter in his XI. They will hope that the events of the past few days, and that their confronting of their differences, will make the team stronger.
Sri Lanka’s quicks had a bad outing against Australia too, but where the attack has largely been good over the past few months, the batting has only sporadically clicked, and this remains their area of greatest concern. Even if the top order delivers a good start, as was the case on Thursday, there has been a tendency to lose their way against high-quality spin through the middle overs. That captain Dasun Shanaka is yet to make a substantial score this tournament is also a worry.
Form guide
(completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa WLWWW
Sri Lanka LWWWW
In the spotlight
Pitch and conditions
Sharjah’s tracks tend to be on the slower side. Though, there is also the chance – depending on the exact strip that will be used – that the ground will be strongly asymmetric again, which is not a situation spinners enjoy. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 30s celsius range.
Team news
Maheesh Theekshana was deemed fit enough to play against Australia, but he did need attention on his side strain during the match. Since there is less than 48 hours between the two games, perhaps Sri Lanka will be tempted to rest him, especially if the strain is likely to impact his performance. Lahiru Kumara was taken apart by the Australia top order, so while Sri Lanka may be tempted to leave him out for left-armer Binura Fernando, they will probably persist with Kumara.
Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Perera (wk), 3 Charith Asalanka, 4 Avishka Fernando, 5 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt.), 7 Chamika Karunaratne, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Maheesh Theekshana/Akila Dananjaya, 11 Lahiru Kumara
With de Kock returning, Reeza Hendricks will probably drop back down to No. 3. Heinrich Klaasen is likeliest to make way.
South Africa (possible): 1 Temba Bavuma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk) 3 Reeza Hendricks, 4 Aiden Markam, 5 Rassie van der Dussen, 6 David Miller, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi
Stats and trivia
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo’s Sri Lanka correspondent. @afidelf