CT 2017, Match 8, IND vs SL – Sri Lanka Predicted XI

India and Sri Lanka collide against each other in their Group B clash on Thursday at the Oval in London. After losing the first game against South Africa the other day, Sri Lanka faces a must-win situation to keep themselves alive in the championship.

Given their current form, India will be a tough side to beat for the Islanders. Sri Lanka have won just one game in 9 ODIs played so far this year. Their only victory came against Bangladesh, who for the first time drew an ODI series against Sri Lanka. While they have decent bowlers in their ranks, it is the batting which has struggled to click of late. Playing against South Africa the other day gave them a reality check. They have to pull their socks up if they want to progress further in the competition. The Islanders used to be a force to reckon with ICC events when their great players were around but that has changed in this tournament as they have begun the Champions Trophy as the underdogs.

Playing against India will be tough as they are the form team and hailed as one of the favourites to lift the title. They are fresh from a one-sided win against their long-time rivals Pakistan and will look to press on against Sri Lanka. For the 1996 Champions, they will have to tinker with their combination as Tharanga will not be available as he was banned by the ICC for slow over rate.

Let’s have a look at the possible combination in the below Predicted XI of Sri Lanka:

Openers (Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Perera)

Dickwella was terrific behind the stumps and was equally good in front of them. He, along with Tharanga, got Sri Lanka off to the perfect start in pursuit of 300. Dickwella perished in the deep for a slap-happy 33-ball 41. He showed great intent and must carry this form into this crucial game.

Perera, like Dickwella, was the only other batsmen apart from Upul Tharanga to be amongst the runs against South Africa. He got to 44 before he ran out of partners and remained unbeaten. Kusal Perera will have to open the innings, a job he has done before. The left-handed batsman can make use of the hard new ball and the fielding restrictions to score quick runs at the top.

Middle Order (Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews)

Mendis looked in great touch before he was snapped by Chris Morris. The right-hander has been a great find for the Sri Lanka side as he possesses a lot of talent. Playing in England will not be a problem for Mendis as he has a sound technique. Mendis has a century and 2 fifties so far this year which shows that he is in form.

Chandimal is a crucial cog in the wheels of Sri Lanka. The 27-year old was unfortunate to be run out by some brilliance of AB De Villiers. Chandimal had an outstanding year in 2016 where he averaged 59.63 after scoring 656 runs in 13 innings. He, however, hasn’t got many runs this year. Batting at No. 4 and being a senior member of the side this right-hander has to take more responsibility in this crucial tie against India.

Mathews is coming back into the side after nursing an injury. The all-rounder brings stability into the middle order and an experienced option with the ball. The recently turned 30-year-old, Mathews hasn’t played a single ODI for his country this year. He was in decent form until last year, where he averaged 47 in 12 innings last year. The skipper has to perform if he wants his side to fight it out against a strong Indian side.

All-rounders (Asela Gunaratne, Thisara Perera and Seekkuge Prasanna)

Gunaratne is an all-rounder who bowls off cutters in an unusual fashion. He is batting too late down the order to make an impact with the bat. He got an outstanding century against South Africa at Centurion four games ago and deserves to bat higher than No. 7. He does a fine job with the ball but needs to concede less than 6 runs an over.

Perera has experience and can be the 6th bowler as Mathews might not bowl because of his injury. Sri Lanka were a bowler short the other day and had to bowl out Gunaratne and Prasanna, who both gave away 136 runs in 20 overs and had just one wicket between them. Perera can chip in with a few overs and is a big striker of the ball with the bat in hand. He will add balance to this Sri Lanka side and can also counter Jadeja’s left-arm spin being a left-hander.

Prasanna will have a tough game bowling against the likes of Kohli, Yuvraj and Dhoni, all great players of spin bowling. His job is cut out as he needs to contain the batsmen rather than going for the wickets. His enterprising batting at No. 8 is crucial for the No. 7 ranked team.

Bowlers (Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Pradeep)

Lakmal shared the new ball with Malinga and had a decent outing picking the important wicket of David Miller. Lakmal’s essential job is to get Sri Lanka wickets with the new ball and hence he must look to bowl aggressive lines. 85 wickets from 62 ODI games is a decent ODI record to have.

Malinga played his first ODI after a gap of 18 months. While he isn’t the same menacing bowler that he was a few years ago, Malinga is still an important part of this Sri Lanka side. He needs to do better than 0/57, his returns against South Africa the other day.

Pradeep bowled exceptionally well on Saturday and was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with 2/54. Pradeep was taken for runs in the slog overs, an area he will have to work on. The 30-year old will have to attack the strong Indian batting line-up.