Both sides have got their bullying out of the way, having beaten Zimbabwe by 82 runs and ten wickets respectively, and Sri Lanka and South Africa are now ready to do business. That may sound odd considering that both have already qualified for the Super Eights but neither has been challenged properly yet and will want to test themselves before a tough next round. Sri Lanka will be happy with the form of one of their most important bowlers, Ajantha Mendis. His 6 for 8 are figures unlikely to be repeated but Mendis showed he is back in a big way. He deceived the Zimbabwe batsmen with an assortment of carrom balls and googlies and while the South African line-up may not be so easily hoodwinked, some of them are known to have a weakness against spin.
South Africa's middle order remains untested after only Richard Levi and Hashim Amla batted against Zimbabwe and they are yet to face any pressure, a catalyst for some of their worst major tournament showing. Sri Lanka will look to target that area of the opposition's game because every other part of it seems solid. South Africa's seamers were effective on the Hambantota pitch and even though their spinners were not called into action too much, they have enough options available to them to be able to afford one bowler having a bad day. The hosts have similar variation in their ranks, with enough all-rounders to have all bases covered and with the advantage of their middle order having had a decent run. By all accounts the match-ups between the teams pre-empts a much closer contest than the group has seen so far. Even though it will not be decisive in terms of who the team play in the next round it will be important in determining who has more might for the big duels ahead.
