Can South Africa break the 21 year old jinx?
South Africa are a formidable Test opposition in world cricket and they have been so for the last two decades. That they haven’t had a World Cup triumph is often credited to their frustrating choking trait by fans and critics alike. Usually, in tours and ICC cups, the Proteas always enter being one of the favourites if not the absolute favourites, but by the end of the tournament, they are usually seen off in the kockout stages by some or the other team preying on their tendency to crumble under big-match pressure.
Now this team is touring Sri Lanka, where they play 3 ODIs and a couple of Tests. It might come off as a surprise that South Africa has not won a Test series in Sri Lanka for the last 21 years and a single Test for the last 14 years, given the kind of bowling prowess they are associated with and having Dale Steyn- the best fast bowler of this generation on their side.
There are many surprising stats when it comes to South Africa’s performance in Tests in Sri Lanka. For instance, the hosts are the only nation where the tourists have not won a single Test in the 2000-2014 period. The Protean spinners (who were never an X-factor, to start with) have a dismal average of 53.34 in Lanka. To top it off, their batting arsenal, which has had the likes of Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Greame Smith in their ranks over this period, have a shockingly low mean average of 27.90 in the land of coffee beans. Sri Lanka remains the only team they have not beaten in an away Test series since 2000. So, are the Proteas going to turn the tables this time around?
After claiming the ODI series 2-1, they made a good point of their challenge, marking their first ODI series triumph ever in Sri Lanka. They can be a serious threat this time because of many reasons. The first reason supporting this belief can be found in their batting line-up which, despite lacking the vast experience and stability of Kallis and Smith, is full of in-form batsmen.
The best thing about them is that they have a combination of experienced and young batsmen with the former in the form of their lives and the latter willing to justify the potential they have been associated with. While Amla and de Villiers are the two best batsmen in the world right now, de Kock and Elgar are hungry to prove their mettle in the longer version of the game. They have a stable all-rounder in Duminy who can stay at the crease for long periods of time if needed and provide handy spells with the capability of breaking partnerships.
Bowling has never been much of an issue for the Proteas as they had Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Allan Donald in their ranks. This time, they have an added advantage in form of Imran Tahir who is vastly experienced and getting more dangerous by the day. He is a genuine spinner with the ability to take 5-fors and 10-fors and considering that age is not on his side, is hungry for wickets.
With Philander always remaining a deadly and efficient operator with the new ball and Steyn being pretty much the best bowler one can have on one’s side in a Test(also one of the best bowlers of reverse swing), they also have Morkel who comes up with ocassional spells of discomfort for the batsmen with his pace and bounce. Club them with Duminy acting as a part-timer when Tahir gets tired and you have a great, match winning combination on your hands.
The only resistance will be Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, with the latter playing his last series. So, expect Herath and company to give the visitors a tough time in order to give a fitting farewell to their legend. In a nutshell, if the South Africans want a Test series to go in their favour, this is the opportunate moment for their batsmen are in great form and they face a relatively inexperienced Sri Lankan side minus the deadly duo of Muralitharan and Vaas.
