SA vs SL, World Cup 2023: Injury-affected South Africa, Sri Lanka eye winning starts; LIVE streaming and more

Both Sri Lanka and South Africa come into their opening fixture at the World Cup with injuries depleting their respective squads. With that said, they would expect the experienced players to make themselves count and start on a winning note at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

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South Africa are without Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala, while Sri Lanka have been robbed off the services of Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Madushanka and Maheesh Theekshana.

South Africa look good for the flat tracks this World Cup is expected to offer but have concerns at the front and at the death. Additionally, their spin department looks thin with just Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi available.

What is working well for South Africa is the middle to lower batting department. If Quinton de Kock doesn’t fire in his final World Cup, there is a middle order of Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen and Andile Phehlukwayo. In comparison, Sri Lanka have just one power hitter in the middle order in the form of Kusal Perera but he’s just returning from injury.

For Sri Lanka, hopes to score big runs falls firmly on Kusal Mendis. He scored 158 runs against Afghanistan in the warm-up but it wasn’t enough to eke out a win. If Sri Lanka need quick runs at the end, Dasun Shanaka is the only real option but he’s been in poor form.

What could come as a reprieve for Sri Lanka is that the contest takes place in Delhi where the pitch is usually slow and deteriorates quickly which makes things suitable for their bowlers.

South Africa, though, won’t have good memories of playing in Delhi, with their last outing in October 2022 seeing them dismissed for a paltry 99.

South Africa vs Sri Lanka World Cup 2023 match date

The South Africa vs Sri Lanka Cricket World Cup match will be played on Saturday, 7 October.

South Africa vs Sri Lanka World Cup 2023 match time

The South Africa vs Sri Lanka Cricket World Cup match will start at 2 PM IST. The toss will take place at 1:30 PM IST.

South Africa vs Sri Lanka World Cup 2023 match venue

The South Africa vs Sri Lanka Cricket World Cup match will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

South Africa vs Sri Lanka World Cup 2023 match LIVE Streaming

The South Africa vs Sri Lanka Cricket World Cup match will be broadcast live on Star Sports Network and the live streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.

South Africa vs Sri Lanka head-to-head

South Africa and Sri Lanka have met each other in ODIs 80 times. South Africa have won 45 of those and lost 33. One game finished without a result and one in a tie. Their most recent meeting was back in September 2021 when Sri Lanka triumphed by 78 runs.

The two teams have met six times in the 50-over World Cup, with South Africa winning four of them.