02:00 PM UTC: Sri Lanka vs England, Group 1, Super 12s, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Sri Lanka is going to face the toughest opponents in this tournament in the form of England. Sri Lanka has lost their last two games including a last-over heartbreaking loss versus South Africa in their latest contest. Meanwhile, England has routed all their opponents including Australia. This is virtually a must-win game for the Lankans who have lost two of their three games so far.
On one side is a well and on the other side is a ditch
What makes England dominating is their batting, bowling, and fielding are all top-level and a level apart from many of their opponents. Jos Buttle made a scintillating 32-ball 71 runs against Australia but it is the bowling that has decimated opponents to 55, 124, 125 so far and that means that batting just has to complete the formalities. Sri Lankan opener Kusal Perera is struggling and Chris Woakes is making the ball talk up-front and Chris Jordan is also deadly supported by Tymal Mills’ pace, how will the Lankans deal with the pace attack of England? And to make the matters worse, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, and Liam Livingstone have offered next to nothing.
Asalanka, Nissanka, Hasaranga, and Nissanka the key players
Charith Asalanka has already played a superb knock of 80 runs and looks in fine touch. Pathum Nissanka turned up with 72 runs in the last game and Bhanuka Rajapaksa has been consistent too. The rest of the batters Hasranga, Perera, and Shanaka have misfired so far and that has been resulting in the losses.
In terms of bowling, Wanindu Hasranaga is the pillar of this unit. He has taken five wickets in the last two matches and has disturbed many batters so far. On the other hand, Maheesh Theekshana has kept it tight as well. However, Lahiru Kumara has gone for 48 runs in three overs against Australia and gave away 18 runs in the last over versus South Africa when he had to defend 15. Dushmantha Chameera began in a scintillating fashion against South Africa but even he got hit for boundaries late in the game.
This bowling attack will face off against probably the most intimidating batting in the tournament. To start, Roy and Buttler can make runs at a quick rate, Dawid Malan brings poise, Johnny Bairstow can crack some boundaries, Liam Livingstone is a power hitter, Moeen Ali can unsettle the best of the bowlers and even an out-of-form Eoin Morgan poses threat. Does Sri Lanka stand any chance here?