Cricket World Cup match preview: South Africa v Sri Lanka

Neither team managed a victory during the World Cup warm-up matches. Sri Lanka lost to Afghanistan and Bangladesh. South Africa were defeated by New Zealand and shared a washout with Afghanistan.

South Africa missed captain Temba Bavuma during the warm-up matches. He headed home for a brief stint, but has since returned to India. Bavuma is the Proteas' leading scorer in ODI cricket in 2023, having collected 637 runs in 10 innings for an average of 79.62. Those, indeed, are impressive stats going into a major tournament.

Opener Quinton de Kock is in fine form. He struck 84 not out in the recent warm-up fixture against New Zealand. His last five ODI innings before that half-century against the Black Caps were 27, 45, 82, 45 and 11.

Bowling-wise, the Proteas will be without duo Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala for this match - and the entire tournament. Both have been sidelined by injury. Replacements Andile Phehlukwayo and Lizaad Williams will be challenged to come good in the absence of the first-choice seamers.

All-rounder Marco Jansen has taken the most wickets in ODI competition this year for South Africa. He has claimed 16 wickets in 11 matches. Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, meanwhile, is averaging almost two wickets per ODI in 2023 - 13 in seven. That's a prolific ratio in ODI cricket.

Sri Lanka will be buoyed by the availability of spinner Maheesh Theekshana. He missed the Asia Cup final due to injury, but has since recovered. Theekshana is the third-highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket in 2023 with 31 in 15 matches for an average of more than two per match. 

The absences of fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera and leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga are significant setbacks for Sri Lanka, though. Hasaranga has emerged as one of the best all-rounders in domestic and T20I cricket, but will miss this ODI tournament because of injury.

Batting-wise, the Sri Lankans can look to opener Pathum Nissanka and wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis for big contributions. Mendis struck 158 in the warm-up fixture against Afghanistan. Nissanka is the country's leading scorer in ODIs this year with 819 runs in 20 innings at an average of 45.50.