I support South Africa in the quarter-final. South Africans are ahead of Sri Lanka in terms of strength and capability. But luck does not favour Proteas in knock-out round. They have not won any match in the knock-out round in World Cup till now. I hope to see the exception this time.

On the other side, Sri Lanka is much successful in the knock-out round. They have been playing in the semi-finals since 2003. The 1996 champions played in the last two world Cup finals.

I am not keeping any team ahead in terms of batting strength. Batsmen of both teams are in good form. Sri Lankans have Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Similarly, South Africa have AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla. But the Proteas bowlers are clearly ahead of the Sri Lankans. So, the bowling strength may make the difference in the match.

Sangakkara tops the list in terms of individual performance. I am fascinated with his performance in this World Cup. He may shine again on Wednesday.

Currently, Sangakkara is the best batsmen in the world. Probably he is performing so well to keep his last World Cup memorable. He could easily play in One Day Internationals for few more years. It is not an easy work to hit four centuries consecutively. There is no such example in World Cup and ODI history. Sangakkara has strongly proved himself as the ‘champion’ batsman with his performance in the World Cup.

Toss will be a major factor in Wednesday’s match. The team batting first will have more chance to do better. It is tough to chase 270/280 in Sydney’s wicket. Besides, South Africa are extremely weak in chasing. So, Proteas will be in a trouble if Sri Lanka, batting first, set a ‘fighting’ total.

Minhajul Abedin Nannu: Selector of Bangladesh Cricket Board and former captain of Bangladesh cricket team. He is the first Man of the Match of Bangladesh in World Cup.

Translated by Bijoy Chandra Shaha