12 July 2018 09:58 am
South Africa and Sri Lanka are ready to kick-off their first Test match in Galle.
Sri Lanka are yet to recover from the ball tampering saga from the Caribbean. They're still without their usual skipper Dinesh Chandimal and their usual coach. Also the thought of bowling at his personal fortress isn't apparently enough to get their spearhead Rangana Herath fit. But Mathews should return and that should help Lakmal build on his heroics at Barbados. South Africa meanwhile head into a darker post-AB, post-Morkel era. But Steyn returning should neutralize one half. He's fighting a wretched battle with series starting matches - getting injured in four out the last six first-match-of-the-series he's played in.
Teams:
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal(c), Lakshan Sandakan
South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis(c), Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock(w), Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Tabraiz Shamsi