A rampaging England are expected to brush aside a struggling Sri Lanka and seal a spot in the semifinals when the two teams meet in a Group 1 match of the T20 World Cup, in Sharjah on Monday (November 1). Pre-tournament favourites England have played as per the expectations in their first three games, steamrolling their opponents, including arch-rivals Australia on Saturday night.
The Eoin Morgan-led side, which is heavily driven by data and match-ups, seem to have all bases covered and back up plans in place even though they have not needed one yet. England have sent out a loud statement to all the other teams with an eight-wicket rout of Australia, who too were looking a strong unit until their frailties were exposed.
Jos Buttler was simply unstoppable against Australia and that is another big positive for England going into the knock-out phase. Their big margin of victory in all three games has meant that their middle-order has not been tested but Morgan is confident they will deliver when the times comes.
He opened the bowling with Adil Rashid on Saturday and not Moeen Ali, considering Aaron Finch's struggles against the leggie. Moeen did not need to bowl at all. Pacer Chris Woakes was brilliant with the new ball and Chris Jordan too came to the party with triple strikes. Death overs specialist Tymal Mills was a tad expensive against Australia but he has been able to pick wickets throughout the tournament.
That win
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 31, 2021
Dressing room tunes
Breakfast choices
Post match with @JosButtler & @CJordan! pic.twitter.com/O0HfLTKcHB
Part time spinner Liam Livingstone too has done a good job for the team, providing Morgan another valuable bowling resource. Sri Lanka will have to produce something special to halt England's juggernaut at Sharjah.
Barring the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka game, the pitch here has not been great for batting and batter Bhanuka Rajapakse expects the trend to continue.
England: Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Janith Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya De Silva, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana, Akila Dananjaya, Binura Fernando.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between England vs Sri Lanka begins on November 1 at 7:30 PM IST.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between England vs Sri Lanka will be held in Sharjah.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between England vs Sri Lanka will be available on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD, and Star Sports Hindi
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between England vs Sri Lanka will stream live on the Disney+Hotsar app and website.
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