Which of the Sri Lankans the Proteas will need to watch out for.
After India beat Pakistan in the opening match of the ICC World Twenty20, Group 1 now gets underway with South Africa v Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankans are many peoples’ favourites to lift the trophy for the first time, as they look in great form and have been beaten in the final twice in the past.
So here are three players from the nation that could prove to be the difference between victory and defeat.
Mahela Jayawardene
A veteran of the game now and someone who has bowed out of IPL cricket, but still remains a real force with the bat in the shortest form of the game.
The 36-year-old has more runs in World T20 history that any other player with 858 and an average of 40.85 is second only to Twenty20 supremo Chris Gayle.
Lasith Malinga
Whilst Jayawardene has more runs in this competition’s history, the unorthodox Malinga has more wickets than any other bowler.
The 30-year-old’s unique style has seen him claim 33 scalps and whilst much is being made of the impact spin will play in this Bangladeshi hosted tournament, the Sri Lankan will still pose a huge threat.
Angelo Mathews
This all-rounder is a real phenomenon and at 26-years-old already has bags of experience and is the captain of Sri Lanka at Test and ODI level.
Yet T20 is something the talented Mathews is also an expert at, as a solid middle order batsman and seam bowler – although does occasionally suffer from inconsistency.
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