England vs Sri Lanka Prediction: Jos Buttler to fire again

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has brought us various appalling results and the list of upsets has been long. It is not just the upsets, there has been no clear-cut favorite thus far. It has been somewhat like “They beat me, you beat them, and I beat you” type of scenario meaning that top teams have suffered one big dent in their campaign and we are in a territory where the battle to the Semis is going down the wire for sure. In another intriguing Super 12s fixture, England will take on Sri Lanka.

England revived their campaign after defeating New Zealand by 20 runs in what was surely a must-win scenario. The English batters finally came to the party especially the openers as both of them lodged a half-century. The team got a 81 runs first-wicket partnership as Alex Hales slammed a 40-ball 52 runs innings, racking up seven fours and a six. They then scored at ten runs per over and finished the innings of a high as Jos Buttler stacked up 73 runs off 47 balls in what was both a calculative and creative effort. Jos was out of form before this game. Liam Livingstone’s 14-ball 20 runs innings put a great total in and the bowlers needed to just keep it tight.

And they did so brilliantly, no player who bowled 3-4 overs gave up 9 runs an over, keeping it tight from the word go. Chris Woakes and Sam Curran sniffed the wickets of dangerous Devon Conway and Fin Allen, reducing New Zealand to two wickets for 28 runs in five overs. The team kept it tight and kept Kane Williamson quiet and despite a 91 runs partnership for the third wicket, the Kiwis stood little chance. Sam Curran also got the big wicket of Glenn Phillips who scored 62 runs in 36 balls to set England on track. In the end, Sam was the standout bowler with two wickets for 26 runs in four overs. Chris Woakes also picked up two wickets and for the most parts, England made sure that the required rate remained high.

This win was crucial after England suffered a huge setback after losing to Ireland in a rather embarrassing fashion. But one thing is for sure, if Jos Buttler gets back in the groove, they will once again be considered one of the title favorites. It is impressive how Sam Curran has reinvented himself both as a strike bowler and run-container after he had been leaking runs during a part of his career. Chris Woakes’ swing bowling and Mark Wood’s raw pace gives England one of the most versatile pace attacks.

Sri Lanka comes into the game after springing up a clinical six wicket win against Afghanistan while chasing 145. While bowling, the team picked up no wickets in the powerplay as Afghanistan got to 42 but from there on, they kept on striking regularly and didn’t allow any Afghani batter to reach 30 runs. Thanks to their penetrating bowling, Afghanistan couldn’t get a kick on in the innings. And the biggest credit goes to Wanindu Hasaranga as he grabbed three wickets for 13 runs, and perhaps being the difference in the end.

Batting-wise Sri Lanka lost Pathum Nissanka early but Kusal Mendis formed 34 runs partnership with Dhananjaya da Silva and after Kusal fell, the pressure was still on as the team required 99 runs in 12 overs. But front here on, Dhananjaya de Silva took on every bowler and dominated Afghanistan, single-handedly bring the required rate within the bullseye. He ended up with 66 runs in 42 balls, hitting seven fours and two sixes in what was an electric effort. Sri Lanka knocked down the target with ease and de Silva played what one of his best innings.

But the sun isn’t shining so brightly on Sri Lanka’s chances, they need a bunch of permutations and combinations to go in their favor to advance. They had lost by a big margin against Australia and New Zealand and they surely needed to win at least one of those games. Their batting has looked vulnerable against seamers whereas the bowling has been average at best with only Hasaranga being a main threat. Against England, they are in for a tough task.

• England: Sam Curran(9 Wickets, 3 Games), Mark Wood(6 Wickets, 3 Games), Jos Buttler(91 Runs, 3 Games), Alex Hales(78 Runs, 3 Games);
• Sri Lanka: Wanindu Hasarange(13 Wickets, 7 Games), Maheesh Theekshana(9 Wickets, 7 Games), Kusal Mendis(205 Runs, 7 Games), Dhanajaya de Silva(168 runs, 7 Games)

These are desperate times for all teams and each game becomes a virtual knockout. It has been such a tricky scenario that it is difficult to which team will go ahead. Bowling-wise, England has the advantage in terms of seamers whereas Sri Lanka has the advantage in terms of bowling. To be honest, England’s batting has been a bit dicey but with Buttler coming back in form, you can’t bet against their batters. I believe their batting will click here and they will come out on top here. This has looked like a batting-friendly track.