A weak Sri Lankan side will take on South Africa in the group B opener of the ICC Champions Trophy on June 03, 2017 at the Oval.

The match will begin at 03.00 PM IST.

Live updates:

South Africa 170/1 (30.4 ov)

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field

Sri Lanka is facing problems in all departments of the game; let it be batting, fielding or bowling. In the ICC ranking, South Africa has four batsmen in the top ten, while the highest ranked Sri Lankan batsman, Angelo Mathews is way down at the 26th spot.

Team News

In a recently concluded press conference, South African Captain AB De Villiers indicated that his team will try to give room for Morne Morkel, but this transformation policy will inevitably pull the team management to a state of the dilemma while selecting the playing eleven.

David Miller has also recovered from a niggle, and he will surely find his spot in the final eleven. Imran Tahir will return to the playing eleven after recovering from an injury, and it is not good news for the Sri Lankan team as he has picked 20 wickets in the nine matches he played against Sri Lanka at an average of 17.60.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka is still doubtful regarding the availability of Angelo Mathews in this game. In his absence, Upul Tharanga will lead the Sri Lankan side, and Kusal Perera will come lower in the order. For the Islanders, Niroshan Dickwella and Tauranga will open the innings. The bowling attack will be led by Lasith Malinga, Lakshan Sandakan, and Nuwan Kulasekara.

Pitch and weather conditions

The sky in Oval will be clear, and there are absolutely no chances of rain. A slight breeze will hit the stadium in the latter half, and it will favor the pace bowlers.

The surface at the Oval is flat, and there is no grass on it. For batsmen, this pitch will be a perfect paradise, as the ball will directly come on to the bat.

The skipper who wins the toss will most probably bat first and will try to build a score above 330 which is competitive on this flat pitch.

Television Telecast Information

People in the United States are slowly becoming obsessed with cricket, and most of the high voltage games are getting record viewership in the country.

Willow TV is telecasting this game in the US.

In India, this match will be shown live on Star Sports. The commentary will be handled by top rated commentators including Ravi Shastri, Ajay Jadeja, and Harsha Bhogle. For the live streaming, audiences can log on the official website of Star Sports or Hotstar. The live scores can be accessed by visiting ESPN Cricinfo or Cricbuzz.
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