RSA vs SL 5th ODI Match Prediction

RSA vs SL Team Previews

South Africa

With a strong performance in the ongoing series, South Africa have certainly established themselves as a force to reckon with in the upcoming ICC event. After being bundled out for a paltry 231-run total in Centurion, the Proteas have not only been fantastic with the bat but have also done incredibly well with the ball.

The Proteas included JP Duminy, Aiden Markram, and Hashim Amla for the fourth ODI and with Amla excusing himself from the remainder of the series, we are likely to see Markram and Quinton de Kock start the proceedings with the bat. Even though Aiden Markram wasn't able to produce a performance similar to the ones he produced in the Momentum One Day Cup, he looked sure and settled in his 29-run stay at the crease.

With JP Duminy set to retire after the World Cup and the upcoming game set be his last of this format on the South African soil, there will be plenty of room for the emotions. Their bowling will be handled by Dale Steyn, Andile Phehlukwayo, Imran Tahir, and Tabraiz Shamsi which by no means is anything short of sharp even after Rabada's exclusion.

South African performance hasn't been all roses either. On almost all occasions, their batsmen have been the culprit of throwing it away after getting starts which Aiden Markram did to performance in the fourth ODI. Barring Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock, none of their batsmen have managed to stay for a long duration at the crease which is perhaps the only thing they'll be looking to sort in the final ODI of the series.

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Sri Lanka

Ever since the 2-0 victory in the test series, Sri Lankans have appeared to be drifting away and away as far as limited-overs cricket is concerned. With four one-sided losses, they appear to be in complete disarray.

Sri Lanks were further hammered with the injury to Kusal Perera if the string of losses wasn't enough to demolish their confidence. Lasith Malinga has had an ordinary series, both as a captain and as a bowler, and will be looking to redeem the lost Lankan pride in the final ODI of the series.

The poor performance by their team has left several question marks over their World Cup squad, which, along with the captain, will be decided after the four-team domestic tournament which is organized by the board to pick the best available squad for the World Cup.

Sri Lanka have lacked experience in the series thus far with Upul Tharanga, their only experienced batsman failing to play a decent knock on all occasions. Dhananjaya de Silva's performance with the ball and Isuru Udana's all-around effort have been the only silver lining Sri Lanka have had in the series thus far. They have plenty of questions to answer and will certainly love to start with the final ODI of their South African series.