After losing out against South Africa in their tournament opener at The Kennington Oval by 96 runs which not only piled up misery for the Lankans, as their stand-in skipper Upul Tharanga has also been banned by ICC for two matches following serious slow over-rate offence.
However, regular skipper Angelo Mathews has declared himself fit for batting, in order to lead his side from the front in their do-or-die clash against formidable India.
Relying on their top-order, Mathews, who is following the suit in batting, has been struggling with his leg since January this year, as he revealed he is feeling better after nursing the calf injury.
Sri Lanka has to put in more energy while rotating the strike and it’s expected they would be eyeing to play minimum dot balls in order to absorb the pressure against the quality bowling line-up.
It’s the great opportunity for the Lankans to give their best against Asian-rivals India, as they are expected to play to their full potential – to stay in the hunt for the coveted trophy.
Overview:
The only bright thing against the Proteas from Islanders came in the form of the opening stand which saw Upul Tharanga and Niroshan Dickwella posting 69 runs in 8.2 overs before losing wickets at regular intervals.
The Balapitiya-born Tharanga, who is not going to be the part of must-win clash for Lanka, as it’s highly likely that we could see right-handed batsman Kusal Mendis coming to open the innings with Niroshan Dickwella, as both are capable of scoring at the pace.
It’s expected fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara might be inducted into the side, as the Lankan 15-member also include promising all-rounder Thisara Perera whose chances are also bright after the average performance from the bowlers in the previous outing.
Nothing to boast about their bowling line-up, Lasith Malinga would be aiming to give his best,as he has been part of the widely acclaimed Twenty20 competition, Indian Premier League (IPL) to follow Indian batsmen closely.
Malinga, who went wicket-less is capable of picking wickets at regular intervals given to his unorthodox action. The 33-year-old Galle-born is known for executing the death bowling and he could play a crucial role alongside Nuwan Kulasekara, who has claimed 199 wickets in his 183 One-day Internationals.
It is pertinent to note, the side has worked hard at nets to learn from their mistakes during their first game at The Oval, where they failed to maintain the line and length before bogging down chances to capitalise on them solely.
Talking Points:
Against the promising Indian bowling line-up, Sri Lankan top order has to fire with all cylinders, in an order to set the momentum for the team which has been struggling in the limited overs cricket and recently they were pushed to the seventh position, as Bangladesh claimed to No. 7 position in the ICC ‘s ODI rankings.
After looking rusty while chasing down the target of exactly 300, the Lankan middle-order batsmen has to rotate the strike and play the white-ball according to its merit.
However, in their previous game against South Africa, the Lankan batters played some reckless shots against the bowling line-up which is bolstered by quality pace and slow bowling.
After failing to tackle leg-spinner Imran Tahir on a placid surface it would be interesting to see how the Lions would face Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin if included in the Playing XI.
The simple way for Sri Lanka to give a hard fight to India has to put extra efforts on the field after being sloppy against South Africa.
Here’s the Predicted XI of Sri Lanka:
Angelo Mathews (Skipper), Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Chamara Kapugedera, Kusal Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Seekuge Prasanna, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Pradeep.