Preview: Sri Lanka vs South Africa – ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Group D match

The tournament’s ‘group of death’ opens with a massive clash between former champions Sri Lanka and underachievers South Africa in New York.

Who: Sri Lanka vs South Africa
What: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Group D match
When: Monday, June 3, 10:30am local time (14:30 GMT)
Where: Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, Long Island, New York

Follow Al Jazeera’s live coverage of the game here.

South Africa will have to adapt to the unknown conditions quickly in their T20 World Cup Group D opener against Sri Lanka in New York, but captain Aiden Markram is confident his side can end their luckless run at global events.

South Africa are ranked seventh in the ICC T20 team rankings but Markram believes his team can adjust to the conditions ahead of Monday’s fixture at the brand-new Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Long Island.

“We do things together as a team early in the mornings so by now we are used to it,” Markram said in his pre-match news conference.

“If you look at it from a big-picture point of view, it is an exciting day, we didn’t think we would ever be playing a World Cup game in New York.

“It is a beautiful training facility and we will get a first look at the stadium and the pitch later [on Sunday] to assess things.”

Group D – or the so-called group of death – also includes Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Nepal.

South Africa have a well-known list of failures at 50-over and 20-over World Cups, where they have been favourites going in and found unusual ways to go out.

However, Markram feels that if they hit their straps, they are a match for anyone in the competition.

“I am feeling quietly confident, there are really good teams here but we feel if we find our form and play to the best of our ability we