Sri Lanka Women vs England Women, 3rd T20I: Fantain Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI and Updates

The roar of the England Lions continued as their women marched on and completed another comfortable win over the Lankans in the second rubber of three-match T20I series. This series brought to light the ominous difference between the qualities of the two sides in all three departments. The SL think-tank have a lot of issues to address and questions to answer given the fact that they are yet to open their account despite the game being played on their own turf.

Venue: P Sara Oval, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Team News:

England Women

England might want to give their reserves a go and rest their main players since the series is already in the bag.

On the positive side, Danielle Wyatt finally put her bad form behind her and scored a quick-fire 37(25) paying back the faith and patience the management displayed in her abilities. She would want to continue to build on this momentum and cement her place in the side.

Katherine Brunt, the veteran pacer, made a comeback after being side-lined due to injury with impressive figures of 2-31 from her quota of 4 overs.

England would look to end the series on a high.

Likely XI: Wyatt, Beaumont, Jones(WK), Knight(C), Sciver, Winfield, Brunt, Dunkley, Smith, Shrubsole and Cross.

Sri Lanka

The only bright spot for the hosts was the resolve of their openers Chamari Attapatu and Imalka Mendis. The batters stitched together a partnership of 45 runs well within the seven over mark before Nat Sciver entered the attack and struck gold, dismissing Chamari Attapatu off her very first delivery.

There’s a lot to ponder and re-think as far as SL is concerned. They need more women playing the game at the grassroots level find better talent. Else, they run the risk of becoming the laggards of the women’s game after repeated poor showings.

In the final T20I, they’d want to field their full strength to draw blood and end the series on a high on what has otherwise been an utterly disappointing series for the hosts.

Likely XI: Athapaththu (C), Sanjeewani (WK), Kulasuriya, Thimashini, Siriwardene, Imalka, Nilakshi, Ranasinghe, Madavi, Priyadarshini and Hansima.

Hot Picks

1. Amy Jones: in the absence of their main keeper Sarah Taylor, Amy Jones has made sure she’s upped the ante and performed in the limited opportunities she’s gotten and made a positive impression thus far. She was asked to open the innings and she scored a brisk 36 (24). With series already in the bag, she’d want to continue her impressive showing

2. Katherine Brunt: the veteran made a good comeback despite conceding runs. That said, she made amends by picking up a brace and was the highest wicket-taker in the last game. Expect the old warhorse to outfox the clueless SL come Thursday

3. Heather Knight: the captain might just play higher than her normal batting position and get a good knock herself. Also, the fact that she bowls decent off-spin should tempt you well enough to pick her in your Fantain 11 

4. Chamari Attapatu: the SL captain hasn’t lived up to the expectations. While she did show occasional glimpses of her prowess, she has failed to make an impact. Under pressure, she would now want to salvage some pride by performing in this last encounter.

Fantain Fantasy XI

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