England vs Sri Lanka, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Today Match Prediction 21 Jun 2019

eng vs srl Match Prediction & Analysis

Host England will be looking to continue their winning momentum when they take on Sri Lanka in the 27th game of ICC Cricket World Cup at Leeds on Friday. 

England has delivered clinical performances with the bat and ball to win three games on the bounce in the competition. Eoin Morgan will know that a win in this game will take one step closers towards qualifying for the semifinals of World Cup.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka needs to win this game in order to stay remain relevant in this World Cup. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne will be hoping that his side can put in a good performance with bat and ball in this game. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

England Preview

The side has gathered nice momentum by producing three wins in a row in the World Cup. Eoin Morgan will be hoping that the side can maintain their intensity and focus for this game as well.

James Vince, who replaced Jason Roy, scored 26 off 31 balls with the help of three boundaries. He will be looking to make an impression with the bat against Sri Lanka. Jonny Bairstow looked in excellent form against Afghanistan and scored 90 off 99 balls with the help of eight fours and three sixes. The opener will rue the fact that he should have a scored a big hundred against Afghanistan.

Besides Bairstow, Root continued his splendid form with the bat and smashed 88 off 82 to help England pile on the runs against Afghanistan. He is currently England’s leading run-scorer with 367 runs in 5 matches at an average of 91.75.

England Skipper Eoin Morgan delivered his career-best innings in white-ball cricket against Afghanistan. He notched up his 13th ton in limited-overs cricket and smashed a belligerent 148 off just 71 balls with the help of 17 sixes. Left-hander was particularly severe on the likes of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, who conceded a lot of runs at Manchester.

It was due to Morgan’s blistering century that saw England post a mammoth 397 for 6 in their 50 overs. All-rounder Ben Stokes and wicket-keeper Jos Buttler were not required with the bat in England’s previous game against Afghanistan.

In the bowling department, pace bowler Jofra Archer was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets to his name.  Mark Wood also produced a tidy performance with the ball and finished with 2 wickets in the game. Adil Rashid also picked up wickets for the side against Afghanistan.

England Predicted Playing XI:

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

England Actual Playing XI:

Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, AU Rashid, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, James Vince, Jofra Chioke Archer, Ben Stokes, CR Woakes

Sri Lanka Preview

Sri Lanka will be keen to make amends of their poor form when they take on England at Headingley Cricket Ground Sri Lanka has struggled to make an impact so far in this World Cup. The side led by Dimuth Karunaratne has lost two games out of five in the competition. From middle-order issues to poor bowling performances, Sri Lanka has seen a terminal decline in white-ball cricket over the past couple of years. 

Sri Lanka made changes in their last game against Australia. All-rounder Melinda Siriwardena played the previous game at The Oval.

Wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera continued his rich vein of form and produced a quick-fire 52 runs to see Sri Lanka get off to a flying start against Australia. Chasing 335 runs to win, Perera added 115 runs with Dimuth Karunaratne in a space of 15 overs.

All-rounder Angelo Matthews once again failed to produce a good score for the side and might face an axe in the next game. He has scored only nine runs in three matches at an average of 3.00 Kusal Mendis has struggled to find form and his repeated failures with the bat are a cause of concern for Sri Lanka going into this game.

Captain Dimuth Karunaratne is the only in-form batsman in the lineup and shows some sort of consistency with the bat in the games played so far in this World Cup. He has truly led from the front with the bat and topped the batting charts for Sri Lanka so far in the competition. Karunaratne has scored 179 runs in 3 matches at an average of 89.50.

Thisara Perera is currently going through a lean phase in his career. He hasn’t done much with the bat and ball in this World Cup. Isuru Udana and Dhananjaya de Silva bowled well and picked up two wickets in the previous game played against Australia. Nuwan Pradeep might be replaced Suranga Lakmal for this game.

Sri Lanka Actual Playing XI:

Thisara Perera, Avishka Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Jeevan Mendis, Kusal Mendis , Dimuth Karunaratne, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga

Weather Conditions

The wicket prepared for the game will be decent for batting. The quick bowlers will get something out of this surface. The weather forecast for the game on Friday is going to be sunny intervals with a gentle breeze.

Venue

Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds is going to its first World Cup game between England and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka will take heart from the fact they have managed to win four World Cup games out of five players since 1996. England has won six games on the bounce at this venue since 2014.

Toss: To Bowl

The side that wins the toss would like to bowl first and restrict the opposing team to a lowest possible score. The average score at Headingley Cricket Ground is around 270 runs.