South Africa will host Sri Lanka in the first of the two Tests which will be played as a part of the WTC 2023-25 with both teams still in with a chance to make the final of this competition. Get our latest expert South Africa vs Sri Lanka match betting tips, predictions and picks below.
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| India | Dafabet (open account here) |
| UK, Australia, Europe | bet365 (open account here) |
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South Africa vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Information
- Venue: Kingsmead, Durban
- Date: November 27-December 1
- Time: 9.30 am local (7.30 am GMT or 1 pm IST)
- How to Buy South Africa vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Tickets? You can get all the information about this here.
What Have The Two Teams Done Recently?
South Africa
South Africa are fifth on the WTC 2023-25 points table but are only marginally behind the top four. A strong performance in these two Tests could take them to the top of the points table depending on the result of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
More recently they are coming off two heavy wins in Bangladesh after having eased to a 1-0 victory in a two-match series in West Indies. They would be wondering what might have been had they not fielded a C team in a two-match series in New Zealand earlier in 2024.
Overall, South Africa have a win-loss record of 181-161 in Test match cricket.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s fortunes have turned around drastically, enough to take them to third on the points table of this series of WTC. They are in with a serious chance of making the final, especially given they have a two-match Test series back at home against Australia.
And they have gotten themselves into this position on the back of three successive wins – one in England and two against New Zealand at home. They had earlier also routed Bangladesh 2-0 away from home.
Overall, their record in Tests is 106-123 on win-loss.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Head-to-Head Stats
- Overall South Africa vs Sri Lanka Test Head-to-Head: There have been 31 Tests played between these two teams and South Africa lead 16-9 on head to head.
- In South Africa, the hosts are 13-3 ahead having lost two in a row in a series played here in 2019.
- In fact till South Africa won their last two matches against Sri Lanka at Johannesburg and Centurion in 2020-21, they were on a four-match losing streak against them.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Preview & Predictions with Latest Odds*
While on paper this isn’t the most talked about Test series, it can very well be termed as one of the most important ones from the point of view of the World Test Championship.
Either team that wins this one by a 2-0 margin will make themselves a firm favourite to make it to the final of the WTC and with South Africa performing the way they do at home, they would have a good chance of doing that.
Sri Lanka, however, are a much transformed side under the tutelage of coach Sanath Jayasuriya.
They have been winning matches they hadn’t been earlier with the 2-0 win over India in an ODI series being the start of their recent turnaround.
In Tests too they have done enough to make it to third on the WTC points table and while some might argue they haven’t quite played in longer series (they have been involved in quite a two-match series), they cannot do much about that.
What they can do is to take their form into South Africa and try to win their fourth Test in the country. South Africa have been vulnerable at times in Tests but are a proud Test nation and start favourites.
We should get clear weather throughout the duration of the Test other than day one.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Match Winner
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Top Batsman
- Top South Africa Batter – Aiden Markram: 4/1 (sign up with Dafabet in India & bet365 in the UK & Australia)
- Top Sri Lanka Batter – Kamindu Mendis: 9/2
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Top Bowler
- Top South Africa Bowler – Kagiso Rabada: 5/2 (sign up with 10Cric in India & bet365 in the UK & Australia)
- Top Sri Lanka Bowler – Asitha Fernando: 11/4
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Toss Prediction
Sri Lanka to win the toss: 10/11
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Other Predictions
- Team of Top Batter – South Africa: 4/9
*odds correct at the time of writing.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Squads
South Africa Squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Tony de Zorzi, David Bedingham, Aiden Markram, Dane Paterson, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Gerald Coetzee, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada
Sri Lanka Squad: Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Lasith Embuldeniya, Oshada Fernando, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha.
How to Watch South Africa vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Live?
The first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka in their 2024 Test series is expected to be broadcast on Sports 18 while you can also watch the live streaming of this match online on the JioCinema app.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Series Schedule
- 1st Test: November 27-December 1 at Durban
- 2nd Test: December 5-9 at Gqeberha