Rain threatens South Africa's bid for fourth successive win

The Colombo weather has already robbed the tournament of three games and if forecasts are to be trusted, that list could grow when Sri Lanka face South Africa on Friday (October 17). While political undercurrents brought games to Colombo, it's the overhead conditions that have dominated debates since in the Sri Lankan capital.

Sri Lanka have already had two washouts, against Australia and New Zealand respectively, on either side of their 89-run loss to England. Their hopes of having a successful World Cup, particularly with the advantage of playing at home, have quite literally grown damper with each passing match. They followed up a dismal batting show against England with a promising one against New Zealand, where they posted 258/6 on the back of an impressive 28-ball 55* from Nilakshi de Silva. Unfortunately, they were denied an opportunity to try and defend their score - extending the hunt for their first win of the tournament.

Their opponents, South Africa, have had a much more eventful World Cup. After a devastating 10-wicket loss to England, having been bundled out for just 69, South Africa rebounded spectacularly to win their next three games on the bounce. A convincing win over New Zealand was followed up by two thrilling chases against India and Bangladesh with Nadine de Klerk at the centre of both. They will, therefore, be in pursuit of a much more complete performance against Sri Lanka - hoping that their fourth win comes in a straightforward and convincing manner.

When: Friday, October 17, 3:00 PM local time and IST

Where: R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

What to expect: It could be another mucky day with forecasts for rain hovering between 40-50% throughout the scheduled duration of the game. The surface, having spent further time under covers, is expected to have gotten even slower along with the rest of the outfield.

Head to head: South Africa have dominated this rivalry, winning 16 of the 25 encounters against Sri Lanka, with three no results. They also lead 4-2 in World Cups. Sri Lanka, however, can take a lot of confidence from the fact that they beat South Africa during a tri-series at the same venue earlier this year.

Team news

Sri Lanka: They have no reason to tinker with the XI that faced New Zealand in their last game.

Probable XI: Hasini Perera, Chamari Athapaththu (c), Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (w), Piumi Wathsala Badalge, Sugandika Kumari, Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera

South Africa: Having missed the previous game due to a hip flexor issue, Sune Luus cleared her fitness Tests on the eve of the game and is expected to return to the XI

Probable XI: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Sinalo Jafta (w), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba

Did you know?

- Chamari Athapaththu needs 12 more runs to reach the milestone of 4000 in ODIs. She will be the first Sri Lankan woman and overall the 20th player to reach the milestone

- South Africa have lost 17 wickets to spin in four games - the second-most by a team after India (18)

- Sri Lankan spinners have picked just 11 wickets - the second least in this tournament

What they said:

"Yeah, obviously as a team we are trying to take each game at a time and, and obviously our main focus is to try and win all the games that we play. The confidence is there for the team and we are ready for the next game," said Nonkululeko Mlaba

"I think we have identified and discussed the weaknesses of the opposite team during the team meetings. I think we can take yesterday's momentum (after the New Zealand game) forward for the South Africa Match," said Nilakshi de Silva