Last Updated on 6 years by Charbel Coorey
The joys of a cricket series scheduled in monsoon season.
The thrill of checking updates to see when play might resume instead of watching the action is something to behold.
With a side struggling in ODIs against a side thriving, it would be very interesting to see what transpires in the home conditions of the struggling side. Rain is expected again, but with a reserve day scheduled for this particular match, could we be lucky enough to see a result?
Sri Lanka, in the first ODI, couldn’t restrict England’s scoring too much, which is an area for improvement even after such a short stint on the field. Lasith Malinga was expensive and ineffective, and will need to lay a better platform for his spinners to go at England in the middle overs. The rain might have us forget that Sri Lanka have lost 30 of their previous 40 completed ODIs, so a chance remains to put their ODI woes aside against the world’s best side.
For England, it looked promising. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow couldn’t convert their starts, but a strong scoring rate was the key, paving the way for Joe Root to play as his accumulative best. That little period of play could give England confidence ahead of the 2nd ODI, and will be hoping that the rain stays away so they can unleash their batting and bowling potential on struggling Sri Lanka.
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Key to a Sri Lanka win
Sri Lanka’s spinners, particularly Akila Dananjaya, again hold the key. England looked pretty good against Akila on Wednesday, and will be looking for a better economy rate. The same applies for Lasith Malinga.
Can Sri Lanka effectively build pressure on an attacking England side through dots? Powerplay wickets will again be important, but can they limit the likes of Joe Root and Eoin Morgan in getting the scoreboard ticking? Can they get Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in with the need to rebuild the innings?
Also, Sri Lanka’s batting wasn’t tested on Wednesday, but how they cope with England’s high-variety attack will of course be key. Much depends on the struggling top order, which has been the root of many problems in their ODI fortunes of late.
Key to an England win
The
same key as the first ODI applies here.
Sri Lanka’s top order still looks a delicious proposition for England’s bowlers, and it will be interesting to see how Olly Stone and Liam Dawson fare in an England attack sure to be keen to have a go. Can England do what many sides have been able to do in recent times and break the back of the Sri Lanka batting early?
Also, there was plenty to like about England’s batting on Wednesday. Of course, Jason Roy against spin remains a concern, but there is always a number of batting threats to keep Sri Lanka on their toes. England could be sent in by Sri Lanka, but if they do win the toss, should they bat first and aim for that 275-300 mark?
Possible XIs
Expect both sides to stick with the same XIs, given the no result on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka possible XI: 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 3 Kusal Perera, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 5 Dhananjaya de Silva, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Akila Dananjaya, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Nuwan Pradeep
England possible XI: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Olly Stone
Your
Dream11 skills benefit given the possible XIs are almost certain to be the playing XIs. Below is my side, with a few pointers.
- Joe Root looks in excellent touch, and is my captain.
- Both Sri Lanka spinners are included in my side, and so too England’s Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali.
- Chris Woakes and Thisara Perera provide both batting and bowling potential.
Stats and Facts
- Sri Lanka have not won an ODI in Dambulla since 2014 (7 losses, 2 no results).
- Jonny Bairstow needs five runs to reach 1,000 ODI runs in 2018. The last England player to achieve this was Jonathan Trott in 2011.
- Upul Tharanga needs 64 runs to complete 7,000 in ODIs.
Prediction
Rain is likely to have a say, but hopefully there is enough cricket to get a result.
England are looking the stronger unit, and will back them for a win.
Thanks for reading!
P.S., I have partnered with the absolutely amazing team at
onlinecricstore.com, the
most comprehensive Online Cricket Store you’ll see.
Find out more today
here about how you can obtain discounts on any of 700+ cricket products!
