T20 World Cup 2022, England Vs Sri Lanka in a do-or-die clash

On Saturday at the SCG in Sydney, England will be hoping to confirm their place in the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup when they face Sri Lanka in their final Super 12 fixture in the tournament.

England Vs Sri Lanka Overview

Currently, the equation for England seems to be pretty straightforward. There is a good chance that they will qualify for the semi-finals if they win here, whereas a loss will bring an end to their journey in this T20 World Cup.

Jos Buttler and his team succeeded in preventing the Australians from gaining a substantial boost in their NRR on Friday as Afghanistan made things much easier for them. To make it through to the final four of the tournament, all England has to do now is to win the match against Sri Lanka.

In their first couple of matches, England did look a bit out of sorts as a team. Even though they were able to win their opening match by five wickets against Afghanistan, it was not a convincing performance due to the fact that the Afghan bowlers made them work hard in order to get to the target of 113 runs.

There was no improvement in the results of the following match as they were defeated by Ireland by five runs using the DLS method. Their hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup began to dwindle as the match against Australia washed out. Against New Zealand, England did appear to be in their zone, however. 

There was a good performance from Jos Buttler with the bat, Alex Hales continued his good form, and the bowlers put in exemplary performances to restrict the Kiwis to 20 runs short of what they scored. In a game of such importance for England, a well-rounded performance is exactly what they need in order to earn a victory.

The Sri Lankan team, on the other hand, has already been eliminated from the race to reach the semi-finals. The team at present only has four points to its name, so winning here will only increase their tally to six points, which is not enough due to the fact that two teams in their group have already collected seven points. It is certain that they will want to bow out on a high note in order to leave on a high note.

Now that they have nothing to lose, they could well be more adventurous due to the fact that they have nothing to lose. This is probably one of the reasons why England has to be very careful when facing the Asian champions.

It is also worth noting that Dasun Shanaka’s men entered this match with a solid win against Afghanistan behind them. With the help of the bowlers, Sri Lanka was able to restrict the Afghan team to 144/8. They then chased it down with six wickets in hand and nine deliveries to spare.

As far as confidence and momentum are concerned, they will do their best to ruin England’s party this time around, and they are confident that they can do this. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is the one who holds the most hope for Australia’s chances of advancing to the semi-finals, as only their victory in this contest will clear Australia’s path to the final. 

Predicted Playing XIs for England Vs Sri Lanka

England: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha

England Vs Sri Lanka Key Players

Jos Buttler: When England’s skipper bats through the innings and scores big runs, he is able to make a huge impact on the outcome. The last match between England and New Zealand saw Buttler smack 73 runs from just 47 deliveries to help England to a crucial victory over the Kiwis. It will be important for him to play a key role in this contest as well.

Wanindu Hasaranga: As a spinner, he claimed three wickets against Afghanistan in his last game and will be eager to make an equally big impact in this game as well. It is also worth mentioning that he is the highest wicket-taker in this T20 World Cup to date, with 13 wickets and a superb average of 13.53 to his name.