The World Cup buzz has already started with two matches on the opening day. Today marks the second day of the competition. The first match featured Namibia and Oman at 6:00 AM, followed by the second match at 8:00 PM between Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Bangladesh might be on alert now. The match between Sri Lanka and South Africa will kick off the group stage games in the World Cup. This “Group of Death” includes Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Nepal.
Only two teams from this group will advance to the top eight, so the calculations will be crucial every moment.
While the opening day saw competitive cricket, only the West Indies among the big teams took the field. They managed a hard-fought victory over Papua New Guinea but didn’t create much excitement. However, the second day promises more attraction, with everyone eyeing the Sri Lanka vs. South Africa match.
These two teams will face off at Nassau Cricket Stadium in New York. This will be the first international match at this stadium, which was built for the World Cup.
Although a match between Bangladesh and India was held here earlier, it was just a warm-up game. Therefore, there is a different kind of excitement. Not just this ground, but no player from either South Africa or Sri Lanka has played cricket on American soil before.
Thus, it will be a unique experience for both teams. However, the winner of this match will have an advantage in the race to qualify for the Super Eight.
Even though cricket is played on the field, statistics favor South Africa. These two teams have faced each other 17 times in T20s so far. The Proteas have won 11 of those, while the Lankans have won 5. One match ended in a tie, with the Proteas winning in the Super Over.
In T20 World Cups, they have met four times before today. Here too, South Africa has the upper hand with three wins, while Sri Lanka has won one match.
