England vs Sri Lanka Match Prediction: The Sportsrush present before you Match Prediction of 2019 World Cup Match 27 between ENG and SL.
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Sitting in second place after five matches, hosts England with have stamped their authority on the showpiece tournament. Heavily touted to go the distance and get their hands around the glistening trophy, the nature of their previous three wins speaks volumes about just how strong this English side is.
Touted as the best chance in years for England to finally lift the World Cup trophy, the home side have cantered to wins courtesy of their formidable batting line-up. It’s the depth in their batting order which makes them stand up above everyone else at the moment, making the most of the batting conducive conditions present in the country.
England vs Sri Lanka – What numbers suggest?
It’s all square in the 74 matches the two sides have scrimmaged through till date. With a record of 36-35, England outdo Sri Lanka by the smallest of margin. The one match has ended in a draw as well while two have been curtailed without giving us a result. The most recent was a five match series the two sides played back in October 2018 with England sweeping the series 3-1.
Sri Lanka have put on a real fight in England as well, winning 13 out of the 31 matches the two have clashed heads in with the 16 wins for England.
England vs Sri Lanka – Key Battles
Eoin Morgan vs Lasith Malinga
In what was one of the finest displays of clean, power striking from Eoin Morgan in the previous match, the English captain showed why he’s regarded so highly in the cricketing fraternity. Not 100% fit for the match with a pertinent back problem still troubling him, Morgan cleaned out an abysmal Afghanistan bowling unit which will make Sri Lanka wary of him.
The one bowler who can trouble Eoin Morgan from Sri Lanka’s unit is Lasith Malinga. He’s endured a horrid time against Morgan till now, managing to dismiss him just 3 times in the 18 matches the two have played each other but it will be his yorkers which can perturb Morgan today.
Malinga knows he needs to keep it simple. He’s seriously waned when it comes to bowling pinch perfect yorkers and if he persists with his slower ones, Morgan is going to peel him right off the bat. Malinga needs to cramp Morgan up for room, see the ball come into Morgan and hit him right near his pads, something which could see Morgan depart early.
Mark Wood vs Dimuth Karunaratne
At the beginning of the tournament, the one area that kept England from being billed as the favourites for the trophy was their pace department. And as they’ve spent time in the CWC, one bowler who has offered some kind of semblance alongside Jofra Archer is Mark Wood.
Up against Sri Lanka’s finest player, Wood knows he’s not going to have any easy time. Dimuth is any extremely technically aware batsman, someone who knows the patience and guile it takes to construct a true ODI innings. He doesn’t have too many weaknesses in his batting but the one area when Wood can leave him beleaguered is by getting the ball to move back into him.
Dimuth is known to hate the in-swinging delivery and with the bounce Wood generates, he can easily induce a false shot from the captain.
England vs Sri Lanka – Match Prediction
For Sri Lanka, it’s turning out to be a tournament which they would like to forget soon. They have just the one win from five matches with their lack of determination, grit and valour making for an appalling viewing. They’ve not only collapsed as a bowling unit but even the batsmen have failed to offer any kind of challenge with the middle-order making for an appalling viewing.
However, what Sri Lanka will be looking to build on is the way they restricted Australia in the death overs and the terrific form their openers have been in. The duo should be looking to pile on the runs against an English pace department which is prone to leak runs and show the stomach of putting on a real fight infront of the hosts.
At the end of the day though, we see England winning this one with ease. They’ll be troubled by Sri Lanka’s opening pair but with runs coming across the order for the home side, expect them to clearly outshine Sri Lanka while batting.
