ICC World T20: Pride at stake as South Africa play Sri Lanka

New Delhi: Eliminated champions Sri Lanka and perennial pre-tournament favourites line up to complete the formalities in their Super 10 league engagements at the World Twenty20 at the Kotla here on Monday with only pride left to play for now.

England’s 10-run win over the Lankans here on Saturday finalised the picture in Group 1 as they and the West Indies go through to the penultimate round, leaving Monday’s game reduced to a face-saving exercise at best. Both contestants had a disappointing run in the tournament with just a win apiece over minnows Afghanistan to show for.

South Africa continue to carry the chokers’ tag in limited overs events, and are still in search for a first piece of international silverware, while Lanka never really got going at all this time even they ran England close here on Saturday. Being knocked out yet again, and even before coming into serious title contention was not a good feeling, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis admitted. “I am a fighter and I know we’ve got a lot of fighters in our team. We are playing for South Africa, we are wearing the Protea badge,” he said on match-eve.

“The difference in getting across the line in big games is when big players step up,” du Plessis said of a team that muster world class, match-winning talent like AB de Villiers – arguably the most complete batsman in world cricket at the moment – the silken-smooth Hashim Amla and pace terror Dale Steyn.

Defeat after positing a prodigious 229/4 at Mumbai against England was probably what deflated the Proteas the most, and at no point thereafter did they look a unit capable to testing the tougher outfits in the tournament. Even the plucky Afghans ran them close. And with departure looming, a face-saver is the best du Plessis and Angelo Mathews can hope for on the morrow.