England won the toss and elected to bat first against Sri Lanka in the 25th match of the 48-match ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup tournament.
The two teams will meet on the pitch of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India at 02:00 p.m. today (26 Oct.), with both sides aiming for a miraculous resurrection in the tournament.
Having won just one of their first four matches, England now need to win all of the rest of their five matches while hoping that the net run rate equation goes in their favour.
Their big-hitting tactic seems to have fallen flat and their bowlers haven’t really succeeded in keeping oppositions down.
Sri Lanka, too, however, face a similar predicament, with Kusal Mendis’s excellent form having been one of the highlights of Sri Lanka’s campaign, who also tailed off in the last two matches for the 1996 champions.
A solitary win over Bangladesh means England are expected to treat every match as a must-win encounter at the World Cup. The 2019 winners suffered three defeats in four matches at the India World Cup. With high-voltage clashes against India and Australia around the corner, England will hope to keep its campaign afloat by defeating Sri Lanka in Bengaluru.
When it comes to the last 10 meetings between England and Sri Lanka, Buttler’s men have recorded six wins over the Asian giants. Sri Lanka have defeated England only twice in its last 10 meetings.
Former champions Sri Lanka have roped in veteran Angelo Mathews as a replacement for Matheesha Pathirana. The former Sri Lanka skipper has made only three appearances in the last two-and-a-half years.
England Playing XI: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stoakes, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Sri Lanka Playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis (c), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathhews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Lahiru Kumara
Source - Hindustan Times
- Agencies
