T20 World Cup 2022: Sri Lanka vs United Arab Emirates Match Preview, Playing XI, Head to Head, Where to Watch on TV, & Live Streaming Details for T20 WC

Current Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka will look to redeem themselves against UAE after bowing down to Namibia in their first fixture of the First-Round qualifiers of the T20 World Cup 2022 for what proved to be a major upset to them.

Not just the Lankan Lions, but team UAE too are reeling from a loss to the Netherlands in their first match and are on the verge of a virtual knockout. Moreover, their knockout from the showpiece event in Australia could be confirmed assuming Sri Lanka hand them a defeat on Tuesday, October 18.

Sri Lanka will need to quickly bounce back from an all-time World Cup upset at the hands of the African nation. The side came into the match as the favourites but eventually faced their fate as Namibia completely tore apart the batting order in quick succession, winning by 55 runs at the GMHBA Stadium, South Geelong, Victoria, on Sunday, October 16. The loss meant that the Dasun Shanaka-led side will need to win their remaining two fixtures against UAE and the Dutch national side.

On the other hand, UAE too will look to secure a victory off this clash but understand that the match could be tricky for them. The side looked out of form as their batters failed to get going in Geelong, posting a total of 111 runs earlier. However, the UAE bowlers pushed the Netherlands side till the end just losing on the second-last ball of the low-scoring thriller.

It will be interesting to see what transpires as Sri Lanka will continue to fancy their chances in the final two fixtures and make it to the group stage of the Super 12. Meanwhile, UAE will look to give the Lankan Lions a run for their money putting up a tough fight with the potential of handing the side another ‘upset’.

Pitch Conditions

The GMHBA Stadium in Geelong will host this fixture and has been good for batting. However, the pacers are also likely to do majority of the talking throughout the match considering how Namibia took control in the second innings against the Lankan Lions. Moreover, boundary dimensions both in-front and square of the wicket will act as an advantage for the bowlers at this venue.

Playing Combinations for SL vs UAE

Sri Lanka:

There are a lot of concerns in both bowling and batting departments, however, the poor bowling helped Namibia post a competitive total. The Lions are down with the loss of Dilshan Madushanka for the rest of the tournament. There could be a high possibility that the skipper adds the services of Lahiru Kumara ahead of Pramod Madushan for some extra pace on the pitch.

Kusal Mendis (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara

United Arab Emirates:

UAE are unlikely to change the XI from their previous encounter against Netherlands and will hope to add flare in their game against the Asia Cup 2022 winners.

Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind (wk), Chundangapoyil Rizwan (c), Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Aayan Afzal Khan, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan

SL vs UAE Head-To-Head

Played- 01 | SL - 01 | UAE - 00

SL vs UAE Broadcast Details:

Match Timings- 1:30 PM IST

Live Streaming- Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar