Lahiru Thirimanne has steadied the ship for Sri Lanka after losing both the openers while batting against South Africa in the first quarter final match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at Sydney.

Opener Kusal Perera is out for 3, brilliantly caught behind by De Kock off the bowling of Abbott. Dilshan is out for a duck, caught at second slip by Du Plessis off the bowling of Steyn.
The Lankans have managed to score 46/2 after 13 overs till updating of the report.

Earlier, the Lankans won the toss and elected to bat first.

The free-spirited islanders from the Asian subcontinent, fortified by the steel that Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena bring in such statesmanlike fashion, against the method and flair of the strongest African cricket-playing nation.

It is a classic showdown between Sri Lanka’s sinewy grace and South Africa’s grim determination.

Sri Lanka have made a change in their XI -- Tharindu Kaushal, the offspinner, into the squad as a replacement for Herath.

The Proteas have dropped Vernon Philander and Farhaan Behardien, who make way for Kyle Abbott and Faf du Plessis.

The Proteas have never won a World Cup knockout match since their tournament debut in 1992, with a series of near-misses leaving them with the unwanted tag of “chokers”. On the other hand, Sri Lanka have appeared in the last two World Cup finals and won the tournament back in 1996.

South Africa Team: HM Amla, Q de Kock†, F du Plessis, RR Rossouw, AB de Villiers*, DA Miller, JP Duminy, DW Steyn, KJ Abbott, M Morkel, Imran Tahir

Sri Lanka Team: MDKJ Perera, TM Dilshan, KC Sangakkara†, DPMD Jayawardene, AD Mathews*, HDRL Thirimanne, NLTC Perera,KMDN Kulasekara, PHT Kaushal, PVD Chameera,