Daijiworld Media Network
Pallekele, Oct 1: Hello and welcome to the 22nd match between Sri Lanka and England. The toss will be delayed as we have a super over in the first match between West Indies and New Zealand. Still no team is through to the semis in this group.
England have won the toss and elected to field
Sangakkara: 'Mahela has lost 3 tosses in a row, so I will be captaining today. Dananjaya replaces Herath today and he is a good bowler. NRR is very important in a tournament like this. We will look to play well and reach the semis.
Broad: 'We will bowl first. Kieswetter, Briggs and Bresnan miss out today. It's a huge game for us and we need to keep our heads calm and win. Our job is to warm up well and be ready for the big game. We have got the ball in our hands now and we will look to do well.'
Teams:
England (Playing XI): Alex Hales, Luke Wright, Jonathan Bairstow, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler(w), Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Stuart Broad(c), Graeme Swann, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara(w/c), Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Akila Dananjaya Perera, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis
Match Preview :
Sri Lanka will look to continue their impressive run of form and seal their spot in the semis with another thumping win. The hosts have already more-or-less booked their place in the next round with two wins in the Super Eights with wins over New Zealand and West Indies. England on the other hand, have been far from impressive in the tournament. They were walloped by India in the group stage and also lost to the West indies in the Super Eights, but they saw off New Zealand in the next match and will hope that they are peaking at the right time.
Sri Lanka
The hosts have further emphasized why they are one of the favorites with a string of impressive performances. They have notched up 2 wins in the Super Eights and will be keen on continuing their good run. It will also be a solid statement and a title threat if they are to beat the defending T20 Champions.
Sri Lanka produced a complete performance to see off West Indies in the last game and they will be confident of a repeat. Their bowling was excellent, their fielding was above par while their batting looked brilliant.
Ajantha Mendis was again at the top of his game giving SL vital breakthroughs in the last game and the hosts will hope that the mystery spinner continues in the same vein. Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga were also in good form and that will give SL much hope against a strong England side. On the batting front, the brilliance of skipper, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara would have given SL supporters much to cheer about.
They will however be wary of their brittle middle order and will hope they do not expose them too early.
England
The defending champions' campaign so far has been on 2 extremes. They were exptremely disappointing against India and West Indies but were superb against New Zealand in the last game.
They had the lanky Steven Finn and Luke Wright to thank for the win , and the two players will once again be key if they are to progress.
Steven Finn was outstanding with the ball in the last two games and will spearhead the bowling attack once again. Graeme Swann has failed to deliver to expectations especially in conducive conditions and England will hope he ups his game.
Craig Kieswetter's form with the bat will be a serious cause for concern and England will have to go back to the drawing board regarding his inclusion for the must-win game. Luke Wright and Alex hales have been England's best batsmen and much will ride on them again. Eoin Morgan too has played well so far and will want to continue to chip in the middle order
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