The Proteas head to the Cape to take on Sri Lanka with the five-match ODI series already wrapped up against the visitors. ANITHA MADIKIZELA takes a look at the stats ahead of the day/night fixture in Port Elizabeth.
There have been numerous records broken for South Africa by the Proteas captain Faf du Plessis, opener Quinton de Kock, paceman Kagiso Rabada and talismanic wrist-spinner Imran Tahir during the last bilateral ODI series ahead of the World Cup in England.
READ MORE: Preview – Proteas vs Sri Lanka (4th ODI)
Question is… will the beloved South African team step up as universally expected, or will they capitulate once again as they did in the same position during the Sri Lanka tour in 2018? Also… how many milestones are on the line this time around?
READ ALSO: Sri Lanka pummel the Proteas
Proteas milestones to watch out for
- Du Plessis is 60 runs away from eclipsing Hashim Amla’s 1063 runs as South Africa’s second-highest run-scorer against the Islanders.
- Meanwhile, De Kock only needs 17 runs to take over Amla’s total. The wicketkeeper-batsman has been in blistering form during the series and will be hoping to break the record at St George’s Park.
- Miller needs 103 runs to reach 3000 in ODI cricket. He needs a further 48 to hit 500 runs against Sri Lanka until the obligation has been met. We all hope he won’t need it to rescue the Proteas, but he can reach his milestones with another blistering Miller Time performance in the event that the top order fails.
- Andile Phehlukwayo is 103 runs away from 500 career ODI runs and will need to trump his international best of 69 not out achieved against Pakistan earlier in the year.
- Dale Steyn is just five wickets away from reaching 200 ODI wickets. I would personally enjoy him bringing up the milestone with a fifer on Wednesday.
- Aiden Markram is a mammoth 93 runs away from his 500 ODI runs after his first 16 innings. After an impressive display on the domestic circuit, he will be hoping to use his opportunity at St George’s Park to book his ticket to the World Cup in England.
- At the same time, Reeza Hendricks needs just 53 runs to reach his own 500-run milestone in his ODI career after 17 innings. He will hope to get his opportunity following Amla’s exclusion for compassionate reasons.
READ ALSO: Amla to miss last two ODIs
Sri Lankan milestones coming up
- Lasith Malinga is five away from equalling Chaminda Vaas’s second-spot 40 wickets against the Proteas… but is still a mammoth 14 wickets away from Murali Muralitharan’s record of 49 wickets against the opposition.
- Upul Tharanga needs 55 runs to reach an incredible 7000 runs on the ODI circuit.
- Dilruwan Perera is only two wickets away from securing his 50th scalp in ODI cricket.
- Nirosham Dickwella needs 88 more wickets to reach 500 career runs against South Africa. He’ll also need three more catches to eclipse Ramesh Kaluwitharana in third position on the catching logs behind the stumps.
READ MORE: Preview – Proteas vs Sri Lanka (4th ODI)
The series so far
- De Kock is out on his own in the run-scoring charts with an impressive 296 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 118.00 and at a mammoth average of 98.66 runs per innings. Faf is a distant second with his invaluable 205 runs during the series.
- Imran Tahir leads the way in the wickets column following his seven dismissals during the series, but Lungi Ngidi (6) and Rabada (5) are hot on his tail as they look to cement their spot on the flight to England for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
READ MORE: No World Cup for Markram?
Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
