Sri Lanka vs England: 2nd ODI, Preview- Rain threatens to play spoilsport yet again

The first ODI between England and Sri Lanka at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium was abandoned owing to persistent rain and it won’t spring a surprise if the second game at the same venue gets halted by rain. Tomorrow’s weather forecast isn’t pleasing as heavy showers are forecasted in the afternoon and the conditions are expected to stay overcast for most of the day.

The pitch is speculated to be more friendly for the fast bowlers and the downpour would’ve ensured that the track doesn’t remain dry and hence, the spinners won’t get much assistance. In the meantime, the batsmen won’t have it easy as the outfield won’t be lightning-fast. In the first match, the English openers gave their wickets away after getting off to a reasonable start.

Shot-making again won’t be simple and batsmen need to depend more on running between the wickets in order to keep the scoreboard ticking. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka have strained to find their feet in ODI cricket for quite a while now and toppling Eoin Morgan-captained England, the current World Number one team, won’t be a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination.

Team Combination  

Sri Lanka

The home team is likely to field the same eleven. Tharanga and Dickwella are set to open the batting with swashbuckling batsman Kusal Perera coming in at number three. The onus will be on the experienced head of skipper Chandimal in the middle-order. The batting isn’t short of depth either. Akila Dananjaya and Sandakan are the spinners with Malinga and Pradeep being the pacers.

Predicted XI

Upul Tharanga, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal (C), Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Thisara Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep

England

The Three Lions may replace Liam Dawson with fast bowler Mark Wood. Roy and Bairstow are the opening batsmen. Joe Root and Eoin Morgan need to shoulder a chunk of the responsibility. The likes of Stokes, Buttler, Ali, Woakes and Rashid make the batting lineup a power-packed one. Rashid and Ali are the tweakers along with the fast-bowling trio of Wood, Stone, and Woakes.

Predicted XI

Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Olly Stone

Focus will be on

Dinesh Chandimal- Sri Lanka

In Angelo Mathews’ absence, it goes without saying that Chandimal is their most reliable batsman in the middle order. His attributes as a captain would also be put to test as the Poms have been on a rampage ever since their disappointing campaign in the 2015 World Cup. On a pitch where batting won’t be a walk in the park, Chandimal has to put his best foot forward.

Joe Root- England

Root has often come under the pump for his subdued style of play in the 50-overs format. However, with a couple of useful knocks, he has shown that he is a handy prospect even in white-ball cricket. Even in the last match, he hardly looked flustered and didn’t look like gifting his wicket away. The visiting team would again be looking up to the English Test skipper.

Stat Attack

74– Runs Upul Tharanga needs to complete 7000 ODI runs.

15– Matches won by England out of their last 16 while batting second.

Head to Head

Overall

Matches – 70 | Sri Lanka Won – 34; England Won – 33 | N/R – 2, Tie- 1

In Sri Lanka

Matches – 22 | Sri Lanka Won – 15; England Won – 6 | N/R – 1

Broadcast Details

TV – Sony Six, Sony Six HD

Live streaming– Sony LIV

Match Timings – 10:00 IST, Local Time 10:00

Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates.