http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 – 3rd Test – Preview
South Africa will take on Sri Lanka in the final Test of the three match series at the Newlands, Cape Town in South Africa on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.
The series is currently levelled at 1-1 and the result of the final game will prove to be the decider. The home team will have some advantage, but they have not been consistent over the past one year.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GC-Smith-c1473 has come under the scanner, as the South African media has demanded wholesome changes in the team after losing to Sri Lanka in the Durban Test by a big margin of 208 runs.
However, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Smith-c90598 feels that there was no need to panic, as the team will get better with time. He also rubbished the talks of lack of motivation in the dressing room, saying that the players are charged up to take on any opposition in the world.
There has been one change made to the South African squad for the final Test, as struggling batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AN-Petersen-c1028, who was delighted to get another chance at the highest level.
There was also some pressure on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jacques-Rudolph-c1619, who has been unable to cement his place in the team since making a comeback to international cricket. He will get a golden chance of making an impression in Cape Town, as he might bat lower down the order
with the inclusion of Petersen in the side.
Other than Rudolph, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JH-Kallis-c1692 will also be under some pressure to score runs, as he was dismissed for a pair in the previous game. The veteran player has been a great asset for South African cricket, but will need to make a big one this time to guide
the team to a series win.
One more issue for the Proteas will be to finalise their bowling combination. Youngsters http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DW-Steyn-c1409 has been as consistent as ever.
This will put http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Tahir could also be dropped from the playing eleven, as the Sri Lankan batsmen play spin well. However, it will
not be a wise decision to go out with five seamers in the team.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka seem to be quite comfortable at the moment. They had not won a single Test since the retirement of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SL-Malinga-c2540, but finally managed to break the shackles against a top quality side.
The most important thing for the tourists will be to continue playing aggressive cricket like they did in Durban. Veteran batsmen http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TT-Samaraweera-c2712 scored centuries in the second match and will look to carry onto the same momentum in
Cape Town.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/HMRKB-Herath-c1559 caused quite a lot of problems for the batsmen and will aim to do the same again.
South Africa will definitely have the edge, but will be under some pressure. However, the team has historically played good cricket in Cape Town and will most likely take the series 2-1.
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