It helps that South Africa has been the setting for memorable starts to world events. In the first match of the 2003 World Cup, Brian Lara’s century helped West Indies beat South Africa by three runs in a tense finish. Four years later the ICC went to South Africa unsure if the World Twenty20 would be accepted by the audience. The same two teams, in 37.4 overs, hit all such trepidations out of the Wanderers. The possibility of an exact repeat has been ruled out by the draw, which pits Sri Lanka opening the tournament against the hosts, but a similar start is needed.

Both players in the act on Tuesday run the risk of becoming perennial best men: both have been consistent limited-overs teams for large parts of last 15 years, but only two players in each team have tasted success in an ICC event (excluding the 2002 Champions Trophy, which they shared with India): Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan won the 1996 World Cup, and Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis won the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998.

Since then South Africa have lost two World Cup semi-finals, one World Twenty20 semi-final, and three Champions Trophy semi-finals. Sri Lanka haven’t been that consistent, but they too have lost a World Cup final and semi-final each, a World Twenty20 final, and shared a Champions Trophy final.

Not much has changed on that front: this is another best chance for South Africa to shrug off the chokers’ tag, and although Sri Lanka are not starting off as favourites it would be folly to underestimate them. So let the nearly men kick the nearly tournament off.

1st ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between South Africa vs Sri Lanka (SA vs SL) in ICC Champions Trophy is scheduled at Centurion from 14:30 local time (12:30 GMT). Watch free high quality online tv streaming on Live Cricket Match and Hasan Online Sports. Please allow 1/2 minutes to download the streaming and press Play to start the video. If the video is not playing, please refresh the page and start downloading the video again.

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Pakistan squad
Younis Khan*, Abdul Razzaq, Ahmed Shehzad, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Anjum, Kamran Akmal†, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Shahzaib Hasan, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul

South Africa squad
GC Smith*, J Botha, YA Abdulla, MV Boucher†, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, HH Gibbs, JH Kallis, JA Morkel, M Morkel, JL Ontong, WD Parnell, RJ Peterson, DW Steyn, RE van der Merwe

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India squad
MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, G Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, RA Jadeja, KD Karthik, Z Khan, P Kumar, PP Ojha, IK Pathan, YK Pathan, SK Raina, I Sharma, RG Sharma, RP Singh

South Africa squad
GC Smith*, J Botha, YA Abdulla, MV Boucher†, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, HH Gibbs, JH Kallis, JA Morkel, M Morkel, JL Ontong, WD Parnell, RJ Peterson, DW Steyn, RE van der Merwe

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Dwayne Bravo was scintillating against India, Fidel Edwards showed plenty of fire with his short-pitched bowling with the new ball, and Lendl Simmons’ cool head ensured the experience and skill of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan was hardly needed. The challenge is to reproduce the same levels of intensity, for nothing less will do against a side which is on a hot streak, and is looking to become the first team to win six Twenty20 internationals on the trot.

South Africa, along with Sri Lanka, have been the form team of the tournament so far. Unlike the mercurial and unpredictable West Indies, the South Africans take pride in their consistency, and have shown that it takes plenty for them to be beaten, even in a 20-over game. The bowlers have been outstanding, rescuing what seemed a lost cause against New Zealand, and the batting has plenty of depth and class. Can West Indies upset the form book twice in two days?

17th Match of ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament from Group E between South Africa vs West Indies (SA vs WI) is scheduled on 13th July, 2009 from 13:30 GMT local time (12:30 GMT) at The Oval, London. Live Cricket Match and Hasan Online Sports will publish live links for watch free online tv streaming and embed multimedia player to stream the match live for free.

South Africa squad
GC Smith*, J Botha, YA Abdulla, MV Boucher†, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, HH Gibbs, JH Kallis, JA Morkel, M Morkel, JL Ontong, WD Parnell, RJ Peterson, DW Steyn, RE van der Merwe

West Indies squad
CH Gayle*, D Ramdin, LS Baker, SJ Benn, DE Bernard, DJ Bravo, S Chanderpaul, FH Edwards, ADS Fletcher, XM Marshall, KA Pollard, DJG Sammy, RR Sarwan, LMP Simmons, JE Taylor

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England squad
PD Collingwood*, JM Anderson, RS Bopara, SCJ Broad, JS Foster†, RWT Key, AD Mascarenhas, EJG Morgan, GR Napier, KP Pietersen, AU Rashid, OA Shah, RJ Sidebottom, GP Swann, LJ Wright

South Africa squad
GC Smith*, J Botha, YA Abdulla, MV Boucher†, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, HH Gibbs, JH Kallis, JA Morkel, M Morkel, JL Ontong, WD Parnell, RJ Peterson, DW Steyn, RE van der Merwe

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New Zealand squad
DL Vettori*, NT Broom, IG Butler, BJ Diamanti, JEC Franklin, MJ Guptill, BB McCullum†, NL McCullum, PD McGlashan, KD Mills, IE O’Brien, JDP Oram, JD Ryder, SB Styris, LRPL Taylor

South Africa squad
GC Smith*, J Botha, YA Abdulla, MV Boucher†, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, HH Gibbs, JH Kallis, JA Morkel, M Morkel, JL Ontong, WD Parnell, RJ Peterson, DW Steyn, RE van der Merwe

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Scotland squad
GM Hamilton*, RD Berrington, KJ Coetzer, GD Drummond, RM Haq, NFI McCallum, CS MacLeod, JD Nel, NS Poonia, GA Rogers, CJO Smith†, JH Stander, RR Watson, DF Watts, CM Wright

South Africa squad
GC Smith*, J Botha, YA Abdulla, MV Boucher†, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, HH Gibbs, JH Kallis, JA Morkel, M Morkel, JL Ontong, WD Parnell, RJ Peterson, DW Steyn, RE van der Merwe

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There wasn’t much of a crowd at Trent Bridge but those who were there witnessed a clinical performance from South Africa, with all three facets of their game seemingly in order for the bigger picture ahead. Batting first on a pitch that had eased out in the hot afternoon sun, they cruised along through an 80-run opening partnership before two clutch hitters contributed cameos picked up off Pakistan’s listless pace attack. By the time Younis Khan realised that tacking pace off the ball was the way to go, South Africa’s openers had raced out of the blocks. And therein lay the crux of South Africa’s victory.

Graeme Smith won the toss and chose to bat first on the same strip of turf on which Australia had put up an imposing 219 in Monday’s opening fixture. Poor bowling let South Africa’s openers off the leash and allowed them to climb into the box seat, and they took full advantage. Jacques Kallis tucked into some juicy bowling on the pads, with fine leg up for the early part of the innings. Smith played a couple obligatory inside-edged drives but didn’t disappoint when offered room outside off stump.

South Africa posted their fifty in the fifth over with neither openers really dominating. It was a mixture of sloppy fielding and bowling, with extras and runs off free hits constituting 14 of the first fifty, and smart placement. Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal, slower of pace and harder to hit, stemmed the flow and forced Smith to reach out and sweep against the turn. Smith got bogged down yet raised his half-century from 33 deliveries, and on cue Kallis tried to put his foot on the accelerator only to fall to Ajmal for 26.

That brought Herschelle Gibbs to the crease and with it some momentum. Gibbs was using his feet from the get-go, timing the ball fluently both sides of the track. Consecutive deliveries from Shoaib Malik were lofted either side, the second an effortless inside-out drive. Afridi returned to have Smith swing him for a flat six, but then had him stumped for 70 when he missed a wrong ‘un.

AB de Villiers was run out before he could get himself in, and Afridi then cut Gibbs off after being spanked for four and six. Unfortunately for Pakistan, Umar Gul couldn’t figure out what length to hit and Albie Morkel duly thumped him for three successive sixes in the 18th over, each of varied brutality.

Needing 187 for victory, Pakistan began their reply shakily. Salman Butt was bowled by Dale Steyn third ball, inside-edging a leaden-footed drive and Kamran Akmal lobbed a short ball from Kallis to midwicket in the sixth over. Ahmed Shahzad kept on swinging, driving Albie for consecutive boundaries, and came out to drill Roelof van der Merwe over extra cover. But van der Merwe kept his nerve and his line, and when Shahzad sized up a second boundary in the ninth over he was trapped lbw to a wild heave.

Two runs later Misbah-ul-Haq was run out by miles without facing a ball, sold down the river by his captain. Few batsmen have escaped when trying to pick singles straight to de Villiers, and the fielder found his mark with ease. Younis didn’t get a chance to atone for his lapse, chipping a return catch to van der Merwe. Pakistan were teetering on 65 for 5.

Afridi came and went, caught in front of the deep midwicket boundary, though he would have been the beneficiary of the third umpire had one been employed. After Johan Botha’s success Smith tossed the ball to JP Duminy and he delivered immediately by bowling Sohail Tanvir. Malik had emerged earlier but was soon heading off in the other direction, superbly held by Botha – one-handed – off his own bowling. It was one-way traffic and Pakistan fell miles short. Even in the last over, when victory was a foregone conclusion, Smith ran backwards from cover and plucked a catch with one hand.

Where Pakistan sprayed the ball around, allowed extra runs in their fielding effort and applied themselves poorly with the bat, South Africa were superior in all departments. It ultimately proved to be the difference between the sides.

The most notable feature of the results has been the way the series in South Africa has mirrored the contest in Australia. On both tours the visitors won the first two Tests before losing the third; on both tours the hosts triumphed in the two Twenty20 internationals; and on both tours the visiting team won the opening ODI and then lost the second. If the trend continues, Australia are destined to round out their trip with three more ODI wins just as Johan Botha’s men did in Australia in January.

Third One-Day International cricket match between Australia vs South Africa is scheduled on 9th April, 2009 at Cape Town from 2.30pm local time (12.30GMT). Live Cricket Match and Hasan Online Sports will publish links to watch free online cricket match streaming and embed media players from different sources for free live streaming.

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