🏏ICC Men's T20I WC 2022: Super 12 - Group 1 - ENG vs SL - 05/11/22🏏

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Super 12 - Group 1

England vs Sri Lanka on 05/11/2022 at 1:30 PM IST Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney

Straightforward equation for England against Sri Lanka

A win for England will help them seal the remaining semis spot from Group 1 while a loss or an abandoned game will see Australia qualify

For England, a lot will hinge on how Australia go in their final league game against Afghanistan. With bated breath, Sri Lanka will also be waiting for Afghanistan to keep its hopes alive by beating Australia.

Nevertheless, they will have the opportunity of spoiling England's party in a contest that is set to be tightly fought. England enter the game on the back of an impressive outing against table-toppers New Zealand and will have form on their side, while Sri Lanka too will take confidence from their outing against Afghanistan, particularly the way their batters took control of a tight game.

Against England, the bigger challenge could come on the other front with the SCG's shorter square boundary on one side offering an area to target for England's big hitters. They could well take a cue from how Pakistan's spinners managed to play with the boundary sizes against South Africa, whilst the same could hold good for the likes of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.

An undercurrent to this game would be the Chris Silverwood factor who was, until recently, England's coach and now a big influence in Sri Lanka's turnaround in T20Is. Since he came on board, Sri Lanka have won 10 of their 16 T20Is as opposed to 9 out of 28 before him.

A day ahead of the game, Sri Lanka's middle-order batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa highlighted what Silverwood had brought into the team: "He's one coach that we've been looking forward to [for] his input, and the input has been quite straightforward and the clarity is there. I mean, it's quite simple with him.

"We've been pushed hard. There's no limits with him, so we've been really pushed hard. He just wants us to get better every day, and it's quite simple, as I said before. There's so much clarity, and he's been great, and we'll get better hopefully in the future."

Saturday offers a chance then for Sri Lanka to take another step ahead in their journey irrespective of how their qualification scenario plays out while England, one of the title favourites, will be under a bit of pressure to make it to the knockouts of the T20 World Cup for the third time in a row.

Weather Forecast and Pitch Report:

The weather in Sydney has been the best so far in the T20 World Cup among all the venues. There have been clear sunshine and no sign of clouds or rain so far. The ENG vs SL game starts at 1.30 pm IST which is around 7 pm local time. The temperature will be around 13 degrees. Humidity is expected to be around 71 percent with a cloud cover although the game and a 5 percent chance of rain.

The SCG historically has been a batting-friendly wicket with even pace and bounce in the wicket. A total of around 170 to 180 will be competitive at this venue.

Pitch Report:

The surface at the SCG has proved to be a batting paradise in the tournament so far. The high-scoring ground has been a headache for the bowlers, especially the pacers. The team winning the toss at this venue will be inclined to bat first on one of the flattest tracks in the country.

Thank you, Raji, for the thread and for tagging me 🤗

I will be here after sometime.

I want to watch a good match, both are good teams with excellent players.

Head to Head:

ENG Won-9

SL Won – 4

In T20 World Cup (ENG 4-SL 1)

On this ground:

Matches won bowling first 5

Average 1st Inns scores 167

Average 2nd Inns scores 132

Highest total recorded 221/5 (20 Ov) by AUS vs ENG

Lowest total recorded 101/10 (16.3 Ov) by BAN vs RSA

Highest score chased 200/3 (20 Ov) by IND vs AUS

Lowest score defended 134/5 (20 Ov) by AUSW vs RSAW

Who Will Score Most Runs For England: Jos Buttler / Liam Livingstone

What they said:

He's a proper three-dimensional cricketer, excellent in the field, can give it a whack with the bat, and I think his death numbers over the last couple years have improved dramatically. For such a young man to be firing that consistently on the world stage is brilliant to see, and he's only going to keep getting better and better over the next few years, so he's a massive asset to England - Alex Hales on Sam Curran

We have already shown what we are capable of a couple of months back, and it's a strong side. Unfortunately not all the results have come our way, but tomorrow's game is quite important to end on a high note. As I said before the game, we just want to play good cricket and justify our presence in Australia. That's about it - Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Teams:

England:

Tactics and matchups: With four left-handers in their top order, England appear to be well equipped to tackle Sri Lanka's biggest threat with the ball, and the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, Wanindu Hasaranga. The legspinner, along with Maheesh Theekshana, forms the backbone of Sri Lanka's bowling in the absence of their frontline pacers. England have not been shy to use Moeen Ali as a spin-hitter and it is a ploy that could come in handy once again.

Probable XI: Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Sri Lanka

Tactics and matchups: Sri Lanka have been riding high on the back of their top order's batting prowess. However, the top three could be in for a big challenge against the likes of Mark Wood and Chris Woakes. The trio have poorer numbers against pacers of the top eight T20I sides but so far in this tournament, they've won every game where one of the three has scored a fifty. This contest then could dictate how the game heads.

Probable XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madhushan, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha

Stats and trivia:

Of the bowlers who didn't play the first round, only Anrich Nortje has more wickets (10) than Curran's nine. Nortje's average and economy rates are worse, though.

But then no one has more wickets than Wanindu Hasaranga, who's got 13 from the seven games he's played. He was the last World Cup's top wicket-taker too. More breakthroughs in Sri Lanka's final match will put some distance between him and the rest of the field.

When Sri Lanka last beat England, at the Oval in 2014, TM Dilshan was still opening the innings, and James Tredwell was England's lead spinner.

Did you know:

-Teams batting first have won all five games at the SCG in World Cup 2022, and that too by significant margins

- England have won 9 out of 12 games batting first, and have lost 9 out of 12 while chasing in 2022

Thanks for the tag, Raji 🤗

Who can go in the SF in this group? 🤔

NZ and ENG, right? Has AUS been eliminated? 🤔

Originally posted by: Swetha-Sai

Thanks for the tag, Raji 🤗

Who can go in the SF in this group? 🤔

NZ and ENG, right? Has AUS been eliminated? 🤔

Cheers..