Lanka aim for survival against dejected Proteas

Chester-le-Street (England), June 27 (IANS) Sri Lanka will aim for nothing but a win to keep themselves alive in the ongoing World Cup when they take on South Africa at the Riverside Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Sri Lanka are currently seventh in the standings with two wins and two no-results, but two points would take them straight up to fifth, just below England, who are themselves in a fight to make the last four now.

Just like Pakistan's win over New Zealand opened up the tournament, same would happen if the Lankan Tigers manage to defeat the Proteas.

For that, Sri Lanka will hope for its players to come out with an inspiring performance as they did against England where they defended 233. Lasith Malinga will once again be the key for Sri Lanka's success in what is a do-or-die game for them.

South Africa, on the other hand, would aim to regain some lost pride with a consolation victory against Lanka. Since their debut in 1992, this has been the worst World Cup campaign for the Proteas as they have failed to go even past the group stage. With just a win from seven games, the Faf du Plessis led side are currently placed at the second last spot in the 10-team table.

However, with nothing to lose, South Africa will be eager to prove themselves by winning their remaining two matches and upset the teams that still stand a chance.

Squads

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Avishka Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera (wk), Thisara Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhananjaya de Silva, Milinda Siriwardana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, JP Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi