Pride at stake for Proteas
The Proteas are looking to beat Sri Lanka in their final match of the World T20 in India to salvage pride before they return home.
The match is a dead rubber for both teams after they failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
It has been a dismal tournament for the Proteas, having lost two of their three games while their solitary win over Afghanistan isn’t exactly a highlight.
In retrospect, South Africa struggled to put together all round performances with bat and ball - a fact that both captain Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla highlighted over the weekend. Having picked up a head of steam leading up to the tournament, the Proteas failed to carry that momentum into the World Cup.
“To be quite honest, we haven’t played our best cricket throughout the tournament. We haven’t had a game where our batting and bowling has clicked in the same game consistently enough and that has been our biggest downfall,” Amla said ahead of the Sri Lanka clash.
The Proteas lamented the fact that their hopes of making the semi-finals came down to the result between Sri Lanka and England on Saturday. England managed to with the match, which eliminated both Sri Lanka and South Africa, and setup a knockout clash with New Zealand.
It is never easy to be motivated for a match which’s outcome has no bearing on the competition, but Amla insisted that pride was at stake and only a win would suffice before they return home.
“Today we come here with a lot to play for in terms of pride, you never want to leave a World Cup on a bad note. To leave here with two wins and two losses is definitely better than leaving with three losses and a win.
“Sri Lanka is a good team and you saw how valiantly they tried on Saturday to keep their hopes alive as well as ours. So we have a lot to play for, we have a responsibility to represent our country as best we can and everybody is really hoping we put things back together and come away with a victory,” Amla said.
Amla wouldn't comment on the team selection ahead of the match but it seems likely that the Proteas will name a strong XI in order to ensure a win.
The match gets underway at 16h30 today.
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