England vs Sri Lanka, ENG vs SL 2024, Today Match Prediction

ENG vs SL Match Prediction & Analysis

Ollie Pope and Co. will lock horns with Sri Lanka in the 3rd and final Test of the series at the Kennington Oval in London. The home team has been exceptional so far with some brilliant individual performances putting them on top every time.

Sri Lanka will look up to their bowlers to give them an edge over the hosts in this Test. The bowlers were brilliant at Lord’s in the 1st innings reducing England to 6 for 216 runs. If only they had cleared the tail quickly, Sri Lanka would have ended up with a huge advantage in the 1st innings.

Joe Root and Gus Atkinson took the game away from the visitors. Kamindu Mendis is the only centurion for Sri Lanka in the series, with a hundred at number 7 in the 1st Test.

He was the top scorer for Sri Lanka in the 1st innings of the last Test with a 74-run knock while the second-highest score was 23 runs by Dinesh Chandimal. The lack of contributions from the batters in the top and middle is a major concern for Sri Lanka.

ENG vs SL Betting News

TEAMS PREVIEW

England Preview

England stand-in skipper Ollie Pope is struggling to find his form with the bat and will be aiming for a big knock at the Kennington Oval. His returns in the last 2 Tests have been 1, 6, and 6. As a number 3 batter, the skipper has a big role to play for his side.

Joe Root, on the other hand, is in the form of his life, scoring back-to-back hundreds at the Lord’s in the 2nd Test. He played a big role in England’s comeback in the 1st innings after losing half of their side for under 200 runs.

If the captain can also find his form in this match, England will pose an even tougher challenge to the visitors. Harry Brook and Jamie Smith have a great opportunity in the lower middle order to deliver performances that would cement their positions in the Test side for future series.

England bat deep with many all-rounders including Gus Atkinson at number 8 who scored a brilliant hundred at Lord’s in the 1st innings. And while neither of the two openers has scored a big knock so far, they’ve got the potential to deliver an impactful performance.

The pace trio of Gus Atkinson, Chris Woakes, and Olly Stone is in great shape and will be a force to reckon with. Pacers will play a key role on this pitch and England will be confident with their bowlers after recent wins.

England Predicted Playing XI:

Ben Duckett, Daniel Lawrence, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Shoaib Bashir

England Actual Playing XI:

Chris Woakes, Shoaib Bashir, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Olly Stone, Joe Root, Gus Atkinson, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Josh Hull

Sri Lanka Preview

Sri Lanka will be looking to save face by avoiding a clean sweep. They had their chances in the last match but failed to capitalize on them. Moreover, their lack of form with the bat has hurt their winning chances the most.

Their batting collapse in the 1st innings of both the Old Trafford and the Lord’s Test put them on the back foot. From that point on, they were never truly in the game.

Dimuth Karunaratne is an experienced batter. It is expected of him to deliver quality performances at the top. His only fifty in the series came in the 2nd innings at Lord’s.

Speaking of experience, they’ve also got Angelo Matthews in the middle order who is capable of playing a big knock. Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananajaya de Silva are crucial in the lower order.

The inconsistencies in this lineup are a major concern for skipper Dhananjaya de Silva going into this match. Kamindu Mendis is the only one who’s shown some promise with the bat in the lower order.

A lot depends on the bowlers for Sri Lanka as they’re in good rhythm and can trouble the English batters. Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara will be leading the attack for Sri Lanka. Left-arm orthodox bowler Prabath Jayasuriya is another key wicket-taker to watch out for.

Sri Lanka Predicted Playing XI:

Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Nishan Madushka (wk), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake

Sri Lanka Actual Playing XI:

Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Milan Rathnayake, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Showers are predicted on Day 1 of the 3rd Test between England and Sri Lanka in London. We could likely lose the entire day or at best have a few overs in the final session of play. While Day 2 will be cloudy there is rain prediction again for the 3rd and 4th days of the Test. It seems quite challenging to have a win for either team if the weather predictions are accurate.

ENG vs SL Pitch Report

Considering the overcast conditions, we reckon the bowlers will have a great time on this pitch. Though it has plenty of help for batters, there is some movement for the pacers too especially with the new ball under clouds. The average 1st and 2nd innings score at the Kennington Oval in Test matches is 341 and 302 runs.

Toss: To Bat

Teams batting first at the Kennington Oval have won 41 of the 109 Tests. There is plenty of help for batters on Day 1 and 2. Chasing a target on Day 5 will not be easy on this wicket and hence, batting first should be the way to go.