CAPE TOWN - South Africa do not agree but this is the way the series was supposed to end: with everything to play for in the final fixture. After weeks of one-way traffic, Sri Lanka came good in the second T20 and have finally asked South Africa questions they could not answer. All of them were about spin.
On a subcontinental-style surface in Johannesburg, Lakshan Sandakan spun circles around South Africa's line-up and played his part in dismissing them for their third-lowest T20 score. On the same strip, Imran Tahir caused problems but Aaron Phangiso and Jon-Jon Smuts did not prove adequate back-up. That's exactly why South Africa have demanded they don't see anything like the Wanderers track at home again.
Newlands should have the same pace and bounce that South African strips are known for, but that's no reason for Sri Lanka to think their chances of a coup are dimmed. Their quicks have had success in these conditions and their batsmen have been here long enough to have learned to adapt. Against the least experienced XI they will face on this tour, this is the ideal chance for them to leave with a trophy.
South Africa's experimental squad has presented some promising players like paceman Lungi Ngidi but their batting has relied on older hands. Now, the oldest, AB de Villiers, is back and many of their hopes of winning this series will rest on him. But de Villiers has had other things on his mind of late, chiefly how he will fit back into the national side. This match will be a test case and the conclusion may lie in where the trophy ends up.
All eyes will be on AB de Villiers as he makes an international comeback after an elbow injury that sidelined him for six months. De Villiers showed he still has it (and then some) with an unbeaten 134 off 103 in a provincial List A game on Sunday, and he will use this T20 to gear up for the ODIs that follow. He was in the nets on Tuesday and seemed to be hitting balls with his usual power but, rather than his batting, the way he fits into a team for which he has not played since June 2016 will be interesting. South Africa have enjoyed success in Tests and ODIs in de Villiers' absence (they have not played T20s) but no team would turn down one of the best in the world and he may be keen to remind them, and the cricketing world, what they have been missing. After almost botching a small chase on Sunday, Sri Lanka's mindset will be in the spotlight as they attempt to take a trophy from South Africa for the first time in the series. Resolve will be more important than technique in what is effectively a final, and they will need to put the troubles they've had on this tour as far out of their minds as they can. That may be more difficult to do than they would have liked because they are without captain Angelo Mathews, who had a torrid time in the Tests but was faring much better in the shortest format. If his batsmen show staying power and his bowlers operate as well as they did in Johannesburg, Mathews may not be too upset to miss out.
De Villiers' return, most probably in the No.3 position, will displace one of Jon-Jon Smuts or Theunis de Bruyn, which also means Reeza Hendricks is unlikely to get a look in at all this series. Dane Paterson could make his debut on his home ground, with South Africa likely to use only one specialist spinner.
Mathews' injury-enforced absence means Sri Lanka will have to upset a winning combination. Dinesh Chandimal will lead in Mathews' absence and, with Danushka Gunathilaka also injured, Sri Lanka may have to go into the game a batsmen short. Suranga Lakmal, who was rested in Johannesburg, could be back in search of a series win.
SOUTH AFRICA: Jon-Jon Smuts, Theunis de Bruyn, Heino Kuhn, AB de Villiers, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien (capt), Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Paterson, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir
SRI LANKA: Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal (capt, wk), Asela Gunaratne, Seekkuge Prasanna, Thikshila de Silva, Nuwan Kulasekera Laskan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana.