ICC World Cup 2019: Match 27, England vs Sri Lanka, Match Prediction – Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live Streaming Details

The Lankans have won four out of last five World Cup matches versus England.

Published - 20 Jun 2019, 15:22 IST | Updated - 20 Jun 2019, 15:22 IST

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England experienced one stutter in the 2019 World Cup against Pakistan. However, apart from that, the Eoin Morgan-captained Three Lions have looked absolutely unstoppable. And owing to their sheer dominance, they have a Net Run Rate of +1.862, the best among the team participating teams to complement the 8 points they have. Their next match is versus Sri Lanka on June 21 at the Headingley in Leeds.

The Lankans, on the other hand, are yet to find their feet at the mega event. Having beaten only Afghanistan, the team is placed fifth in the table. Against Australia, they got themselves in a commanding position, but the middle-order let them down. Ahead of their upcoming game, Dimuth Karunaratne and Co can take heart from the fact that they won four out of their last five World Cup matches versus England.

Weather Report

Much to everyone’s relief, there are no chances of rain in tomorrow’s game. In fact, it would be a surprise, if there’s even a small rain delay. There will be a bit of cloud cover, but that isn’t expected to convert into a downpour. The temperature will be in between 14 and 17 degrees Celsius. The humidity won’t be on the higher side with the numbers in the 40s and 50s.

Pitch Report

Only 15 out of the 39 completed ODIs at the venue went in favour of the teams, batting first. Hence, teams are likely to field first after winning the toss. The last five One-Dayers have produced an average score of 325 and that somewhat shows the nature of the strip. Bowlers won’t have much in the deck for them and the batters are likely to have a good time in the middle.

Playing combinations

England

The Three Lions are most likely to bring back Liam Plunkett, who missed the last match due to illness. In that scenario, Adil Rashid may have to sit out. Rashid has bowled at an average of 54.50 and also leaked runs at an alarming economy rate of 6.25. The 34-year-old Plunkett has comparatively been better. James Vince would wish to kick on after getting out for 26 versus the Afghans.

Jonny Bairstow is steadfastly finding his rhythm back. Joe Root has arguably been the Brits’ best bet with the bat, having scored 367 runs at 91.75. Eoin Morgan is in red-hot form as well. Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali have also done well. In the bowling department, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer with nine and 12 wickets respectively, have the onus of making the important breakthroughs.

Probable XI

James Vince, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid/Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood

Sri Lanka

The Lankans may bring back Suranga Lakmal in place of Milinda Siriwardana, who didn’t have a great outing against the Aussies. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera have been the only silver linings in the dark clouds of the team’s batting. Both have a couple of half-centuries under their belt and have to replicate the same show versus ICC’s number-one ranked ODI team.

Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis, despite being prolific run-scorers, haven’t done anything of sorts thus far. Thisara Perera is yet to terrorize the opponent with his merciless style of play. Nuwan Pradeep made a horrendous comeback, conceding 88 runs without success in his 10 overs. Lasith Malinga has occasionally looked good but needs to be a bit more consistent.

Probable XI

Dimuth Karunaratne (C), Kusal Perera (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana/Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep