Australia v South Africa: Match-winners for the third and final Test in Cape Town

 

This Saturday marks the start of the third and deciding Test in Cape Town. With the series on the line, it is time to look at who the potential match-winners are in both line-ups.

The last time these two sides met at this ground was in 2011, when Australia skittled the Proteas for 96 runs in the first innings to take a 188-run lead, before being blasted out for just 47 on the way to an eight-wicket loss.
It is unlikely a similar scenario will present itself this weekend, given there is more than a fair chance the pitch presented for the third Test will be a low-bounce track designed to take the sting out of Australia's main weapon, Mitchell Johnson.
Regardless, there are a number of men who are more than capable of turning the Test and winning the series for their teams.

MITCHELL JOHNSON

The Port Elizabeth pitch may have blunted his impact on the second Test, but Johnson remains the tourists' most likely match-winner.
To say he is in a rich vein of form is an understatement. In his last 14 innings - against England and South Africa - Johnson has taken 52 wickets at a miserly average of 14.71.
His ability to bowl at pace coupled with his intimidation of opposition batsmen through so-called "armpit balls" makes him a danger man no matter what deck he plays on.
West Indies' pace bowling legend Michael Holding said before the series began that batsmen would much rather face Dale Steyn than Johnson.
If he can get a few early deliveries to go big on the Proteas' batsmen, Johnson could set the scene for another triumphant end to a series for his side.

DALE STEYN

He is the number one ranked bowler in the world, and he has just given the Australians a painful reminder of his abilities, taking four key wickets in the final session of South Africa's 231-run win at Port Elizabeth.
Aside from pace, what Steyn possesses is the ability to utilise reverse swing - when he is in form he is, like Johnson, all but unplayable.
The man they call the Steyn remover has been a go-to bowler for captain Graeme Smith, going wicketless just once in his last 34 innings.
The 30-year-old is eminently capable of ripping through the Australian top six or turning the game in a session like he did this week.

AB DE VILLIERS

DeVilliers and team-mate Hashim Amla are the best two batsmen in the number one Test side in the world.
There is almost nothing separating the pair's Test performances in Cape Town - De Villiers has scored 824 runs at 41.2 at the ground, while Amla has scored 827 runs at 41.35.
But DeVilliers's form makes him the more likely match-winner at this moment. He has amassed 868 runs at 78.9 in his last 11 innings (including four centuries and two 90s), compared to Amla's 467 runs at 42.5 (two centuries and one in the 90s).
His timing, driving and footwork make him a difficult man to dislodge - if the Australians cannot dismiss him cheaply the hosts' chances of sealing the series will be greatly enhanced.

DAVID WARNER

The master blaster has continued his resurgence in South Africa, and he poses a huge threat to the Proteas' attack in Cape Town.
Warner had a strong return Ashes series, scoring 523 runs at an average of 58.1.
He has backed that up with 263 runs at 65.75 in the first two Tests in South Africa, reaching 50 in three of his four innings.
His boundary-hitting feats are well known, but his ability to attack in general and put bowlers (and their captains) on the defensive is more important.
The Proteas bowlers have found it difficult to remove him, and if Warner gets into a groove at Newlands, he could quickly take the game away from the hosts.

RYAN HARRIS

Prior to the re-emergence of Johnson, Harris was the driving force behind the Australian attack.
He took 46 wickets at 19.5 in the back-to-back Ashes series against England, and although he has not been in quite such potent form against the Proteas, he is still of crucial importance.
If Johnson is not making the breakthroughs for Australia, then it will fall to Harris to restrict the South African batting and force the errors that will give the visitors the momentum.
When the ball starts swinging, he will become an even more dangerous proposition. If the Proteas focus all their attention on Johnson, he could well make them pay.

MORNE MORKEL

The last time the two sides met in Cape Town, Vernon Philander was the main destroyer for South Africa, with match figures of 8 for 78.
But Philander has looked out of touch in the first two Tests of the series. It is Morkel who provides the real menace with his ability to extract steepling bounce to challenge Australia's batsmen.
An ankle ligament tear late last year limited his effectiveness in the series against India, and so far he has taken just five wickets against the Australians.
But like Philander he has fond memories of Cape Town, taking 6 for 91 for the match in the Proteas' win.

NATHAN LYON

Lyon does not leap out as a natural match-winner, but he could provide a critical point of difference for the tourists.
The perpetually under-appreciated spinner has been in solid form, with strong performances against India on the subcontinent, a seven-wicket match against England at Chester-le-Street and another six scalps at the MCG in the return Ashes series.
He was also the main wicket-taker in the first innings at Port Elizabeth, taking 5 for 130.
South Africa have generally relied on their pacemen in Cape Town in recent years, however in the latest Test played at Newlands Robin Peterson took five for the match for the Proteas and Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal had match figures of 10 for 147.
South Africa's spin options will not elicit much fear in the Australians, but if the wicket is turning then Lyon could be a definite danger man.

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Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka, Asia Cup ODI: Date, Time, TV Info and Preview

Asia Cup 2014 highlights: Lasith Malinga's fifer sinks Pakistan as Sri Lanka win by 12 runs

 

Malinga five-for cuts Pakistan short

 

Sri Lanka 296 for 6 (Thirimanne 102, Sangakkara 67, Mathews 55*) beat Pakistan 284 (Umar Akmal 74, Misbah 73, Malinga 5-52) by 12 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Lasith Malinga triggered Pakistan's slide with the wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Lahiru Thirimanne | Kumar Sangakkara Matches: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Fatullah Series/Tournaments: Asia Cup Teams: Pakistan | Sri Lanka

Lasith Malinga reasserted his skill for rattling chases in a tight finish, after Lahiru Thirimanne had proclaimed his relevance to the ODI format, as Sri Lanka sputtered to a thrilling win in the Asia Cup opener in Fatullah.

Pakistan lost their top order cheaply, surged, collapsed, then surged briefly again, in search of 297, but the total that had been set up by Thirimanne's 102 was 12 too many, despite half-centuries from Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal.

Malinga's 5 for 52 was his first in ODIs since January 2012, as he claimed the two last Pakistan scalps in an unflappable 49th over replete with tailing yorkers. Bilawal Bhatti and Saeed Ajmal had managed 17 runs from the previous over to whittle the requirement down to 17 from two overs, but Ajmal was caught in front by a yorker, and Bhatti had one clatter into his off stump. Bhatti's wicket was Malinga's 250th, and he achieved the milestone faster than any other Sri Lanka bowler, beating Muttiah Muralitharan by 11 matches.

Pakistan had earlier seemed in control, with 55 needed off 46 balls and six wickets in hand, thanks to the 121-run stand between Misbah and Akmal. But Malinga was vital to quelling that charge too. He struck twice in four balls in the 45th over, to swing the match strongly in Sri Lanka's favour, before dismissing Umar Gul in his next. All of his wickets came in his last 15 balls.

Thirimanne's 161-run stand, off 146 balls, with Kumar Sangakkara had been the centrepiece of Sri Lanka's innings. Joined after a mediocre start, the pair pushed the run rate close to six, promising a total well in excess of 300, but a stutter in the batting Powerplay and a focused Pakistan, led by Saeed Ajmal, in the late overs ensured they did not finish with force.

Thirimanne, backed by the selectors to open instead of Mahela Jayawardene, was fluent from the outset, and despite his strike rate of 92.72, was rarely ruled by aggression. A crisp cover drive off Gul brought him his first boundary in the second over, and that stroke - his favourite - would prove equally productive against spin. Casually authoritative on the off side to begin with, Thirimanne eventually added a leg side element to his play, even swinging Mohammad Hafeez over deep midwicket for six, in the 31st over.

In between the sweetly struck fours, Thirimanne was also adept at measuring singles. Aided by a surface that offered little seam movement and appreciable turn, and by Sangakkara's enterprise at the other end, he eased to his half-century in the 20th over, then launched an offensive alongside the senior man after the 25th.



Crucially, for a batsman who has spent much of the past two months sidelined with injury, Thirimanne was as stoic as he was confident. The nineties drew no fidgets or hair-brained strokes. He flitted through them, as he had done throughout his stay, to record his second triple-figure score in ODIs. The milestone, fittingly, came from a cover drive. The celebration, typically, was understated.

Though Thirimanne had modeled his strokes and approach on his senior partner, Sangakkara had not been quite so mellow. Often he strode forward against the quicks, making the length deliveries overpitched, and his initiative became Sri Lanka's impetus. He hit 67 from 65 balls, before thumping an Umar Gul bouncer to the only infielder on the leg side.

Angelo Mathews embellished his regained stature as a finisher with an unbeaten 55 off 50 balls, but he could not attack with much abandon at the close, because he could not find a secure ally at the other end. Ajmal's varied final spell was Sri Lanka's biggest hindrance. He finished with 1 for 50 from his full quota, while Umar Gul, who strangely only bowled eight overs, took 2 for 38.

Pakistan had fizzled to 121 for 4 in response, before a measured Misbah and an impetuous Akmal fanned the embers of the chase, only to let it grow cold when triumph was in sight.

There was little to separate this Misbah half-century from the dozens he has scored in the past 14 months. A staccato of curt defensive prods and opportunistic nurdles broken by startling, occasional blasts: a whack over long-on off Thisara Perera and a slog over midwicket off Sachithra Senanayake to go with three more legside boundary. His innings could have ended at 44 when he gave a feather-edge off Suranga Lakmal, but as the only giveaway to Misbah's indiscretion was one muffled, woody note, the umpire was unmoved.

Akmal's progress was smoother, until he unleashed with ten overs remaining, carting Suranga Lakmal for 16 before slamming two fours off debutant left-arm spinner Chaturanga de Silva. Angelo Mathews bravely kept Lakmal on and he was rewarded with an edge to the keeper that sparked Pakistan's late stumble. When Misbah leathered Malinga to deep square leg, it appeared Pakistan were all but done.

Lakmal had delivered four overs of accurate away-seam with the new ball, claiming Sharjeel Khan's wicket, but though he dismissed Akmal, his figures in the final overs suggested he has not yet developed a head for death bowling. Senanayake and de Silva took one wicket apiece, and Mathews himself took the key scalp of Mohammad Hafeez, who had been Sri Lanka's primary tormentor during the bilateral series in December.

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