MoneyBall9 Fantasy guide: England v Sri Lanka 2nd ODI

Today’s MoneyBall9 Fantasy guide is for the England v Sri Lanka 2nd ODI at Birmingham. When Liam Plunkett hit that six over long off to seal the tie for England, two incidents from the World T20 flashed through my mind.

The first was how Bangladesh had started celebrating when 2 runs were required from 3 balls in the game against India, a game that they ultimately lost. And the second was Carlos Braithwaite achieving the impossible by hitting Ben Stokes for 4 mammoth sixes in the final over of the World T20 2016 final.

The Sri Lankans had started celebrating way before the last ball was bowled and ultimately ended up being disappointed and Liam Plunkett did the impossible by hitting a six of the last ball to square the game.

Two very important lessons from these incidents combined:

• Never ever get complacent in life, no matter what you do and how favourable the situation looks like

• Its not over, until it is actually over!

Also check out – Eng v SL, 2nd ODI Preview: Both side aim to take lead after a crunch tie

Sri Lanka hadn’t started the game pretty well, loosing their openers to same brilliant swing bowling by Wiley and Woakes. Chandimal and Mathews steadied the ship and Prasanna’s late order heroics ensured that they posted a competitive total of 286.

The England innings was identical. Their top 3 did not trouble the scorers much and it took a heroic effort from Buttler and Woakes to get them close to the Sri Lankan total. But it was the final thrust from Plunkett that ultimately led England to tie the game with Sri Lanka.

Let’s get to business now!

England vs Sri Lanka 2^nd ODI

Batsmen

Alex Hales, Jason Roy and Joe Root; all three of them failed in the last game, as none of them were able to cope with the initial swing on offer. But on a Birmingham track that has eased out in the recent past and provides batsmen with complete freedom to stroke the ball to all corners of the field, I think these top order batsmen would flourish big time.

In any case do go for Joe Root and Alex Hales. These two have been pivotal for England’s success in the shortest format and I wouldn’t be surprised if they come up with the goods tomorrow.

You could maybe drop Jason Roy and get in Eoin Morgan, but the catch is that Morgan uses himself as a floater and could come lower down the order if wickets start tumbling at the start.

Wicketkeeper

Between Kusal Perera and Jos Buttler, I opt for the former, as he opens the batting. And though Buttler scored a well-paced 90 odd in the last game, he comes in at number 6 and thus you can’t bank on him scoring those many everyday.

All Rounder

Seekugge Prasanna has been impressive with both bat and ball in his time in the UK. In the last game too he scored 59 in 29 balls and was used as a pinch-hitter in the recently concluded series against Ireland.

Bowlers

Suranga Lakmal has been Sri Lanka’s go-to bowler. He has been efficient with the ball all through this series and is the mainstay of the Sri Lankan attack. Get him in!

Liam Plunkett tonked the ball all around the par to earn his side a tie in the last game but was efficient with the ball as well, picking 2 wickets. Also, as he comes in for just Rs 5000 in the Moneyball9 game, he helps me get the balance of my team right.

Nuwan Pradeep has been extremely good for the Sri Lankans in Test matches and has started to translate that form in the limited overs format as well. Again, he too helps you deal with the budget and combination issues as he comes in for just Rs 5000.

Flexible Player

Angelo Mathews has been trying to resurrect the image and stature of Sri Lankan cricket after the departure of greats like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. He was extremely good with both bat and ball in the last game and as he comes in at 5, he gets a lot of time to make a lot of impact. Also, he has started giving himself more overs these days, which gives you a double scoring option. He is doubtful for tomorrow’s game considering the hamstring injury. Wait till the toss to take the final call on him.

Happy Team Picking!