Colombo, Feb 22 Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field against England in the second match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Super Eights here at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
The two sides recently met at the same venue in a rain-hit bilateral series that England swept 3-0, with the DLS method coming into play more than once, a factor that could again prove relevant.
Since then, however, momentum has swung towards the co-hosts. Sri Lanka have looked assured throughout the tournament, barring a minor stumble against Zimbabwe, and were particularly dominant in their dismantling of Australia in Pallekele. They have absorbed the setbacks of losing Wanindu Hasaranga and Matheesha Pathirana, with Pathum Nissanka leading a batting unit marked by clarity and composure.
England, in contrast, have progressed without conviction, their top order yet to fully click. With home confidence up against England’s big-match pedigree, the contest could shape both teams’ Super Eights trajectory.
Winning the toss, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka said, "We've been chasing it well in the past few occasions; we're happy to chase it down." Boys are very confident playing here. Injuries have been very damaging, but at the same time, the replacements have done really well for us. Couple of changes. Chameera comes back for Pramod Madushan and Kamil Mishara comes for Kusal Perera."
Meanwhile, England captain Harry Brook said, "We would have had a bowl as well. We see this is a new competition now. We got to be brave and take the opposition and look to put them under pressure. We had an amazing series here against those guys. And we take a lot of confidence from having played three games on this pitch already. So, looking forward to the challenge that presents us today."
Playing XIs:
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, D Hemantha, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, D Madushanka
England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
--IANS
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