Sri Lanka vs South Africa Prediction: Proteas’ pacemen set to strike early

Sri Lanka face South Africa in a T20 World Cup Group D fixture on Monday, June 3, and the action starts at 15:30 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. The Lankans lifted the trophy in 2014 but have slipped down to number eight in the ICC's T20 rankings while South Africa have never reached the final of a T20 or an ODI World Cup.

Their 2024 squad is packed with talent, however, and middle-order batter Heinrich Klaasen was the second-highest six-hitter in this season's Indian Premier League. Klaasen heads one of two betting tips in my Sri Lanka vs South Africa prediction, which can be found below.

Team News

Sri Lanka's squad includes veteran Angelo Mathews, who played in their 2014 T20 World Cup triumph, while all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga captains the side. Fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana's IPL season was cut short by a hamstring injury but he returned to action in Thursday's warm-up win over Ireland.

South Africa will assess the fitness of fast bowler Kagiso Rabada but fellow paceman Anrich Nortje has recovered from a back problem. Ryan Rickelton, who made his T20 international debut less than a week ago, is hoping to bat in the top four.

Sri Lanka vs South Africa Odds

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South Africa failed to reach the semi-finals of the 2021 or 2022 T20 World Cups despite winning six of their eight completed matches and they are 4/9 to make a successful start against 17/10 Sri Lanka.

Quinton de Kock, who scored four centuries at last year's ODI World Cup, is 13/5 favourite to be South Africa Top Run Scorer and skipper Wanindu Hasaranga is 5/2 to be Sri Lanka Top Wicket Taker in New York.

Sri Lanka Fall Of First Wicket - Under 22.5 @ 10/11

Sri Lanka's bowling attack is expected to cause problems for their opponents at this tournament but their chances may be undermined by a brittle batting unit.

The Lankans are struggling to find a reliable T20 opening pair and they lost their first wicket with the score at four, one and 18 in March's series in Bangladesh.

Openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis were dismissed for five and four in the warm-up defeat to the Netherlands before making 22 and 13 against Ireland on Thursday and South Africa should be backed to strike early with the new ball.

Heinrich Klaasen Top South Africa Run Scorer @ 18/5

Heinrich Klaasen's IPL season ended in disappointment as Sunrisers Hyderabad were thrashed by Kolkata Knight Riders in the final but he enhanced his reputation as one of the most destructive middle-order batters in the T20 format throughout the campaign.

Klaasen scored 479 runs from just 280 balls for the Sunrisers, hitting 38 sixes, and he scored a brilliant century against England at last year's ODI World Cup.

He has yet to translate his T20 franchise form into success at international level although he cracked seven sixes in a 30-ball knock of 69 against India in 2018 on only his second appearance.

Klaasen's game has improved significantly since then and his fine record against spin bowlers makes him an attractive bet to top-score against Sri Lanka.

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