Cricket World Cup: England vs Sri Lanka
Venue: Headingley Carnegie, Leeds
Date: Friday, 21st June 2019
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Match Winner:
England and Sri Lanka face off in Leeds on Friday in what will be the sixth match of the 2019 Cricket World Cup for each team. England have had a very successful World Cup so far, compiling a record of four wins and just one defeat. England opened with a 104 run win over South Africa before suffering their lone defeat so far against Pakistan by 14 runs in a game dominated by the bat. The host nation recovered well from that setback, picking up decisive wins over Bangladesh, West Indies, and Afghanistan leading into this contest.
Sri Lanka has not fared as well as England, but much of that has been down to the typically unpredictable English summer weather. Sri Lanka lost their first match of the tournament in auspicious circumstances, being blown away by New Zealand and going down by 10 wickets. After a much-needed win over Afghanistan, Sri Lanka’s next two games (Pakistan and Bangladesh) were both abandoned without a ball being bowled. Their last match out was an 87 run defeat at the hands of much-fancied Australia.
Match Preview
England will be looking to keep their batting as lethal against Sri Lanka as it was against Afghanistan last time out. England finished their innings against the lowest ranked team in this tournament by setting a monumental target of 397/6, a figure Afghanistan got nowhere near, despite brave batting, as they completed their innings with figures of 247/8.
Sri Lanka are expected to be a much more difficult opponent, but a confident England side will look to dismantle the Sri Lankan bowling in much the same way as they did against Afghanistan at Old Trafford. Expect England to be aggressive here, knowing that their batting is such a strength, this is especially true in the middle innings, where England will be able to use the lack of shine on the ball to take over the game.
The top of the Sri Lankan order, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera, have the talent and the explosive batting to make this interesting. Perera, in particular, can keep the run rate high, just as long as he doesn’t make a mistake and find himself vulnerable to chasing a delivery.
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Betting Tips
Man of the Match: Eoin Morgan – 12.00
Morgan was a doubt pre-match because of a back injury against Afghanistan. He then took on the Afghan bowling in almost unbelievable style, smashing a record-breaking 17 sixes in a one-day innings. While he was dropped for 25 during the innings, it shows that Morgan is in fine form and capable of taking over a game. If his back allows him to play, don’t be shocked to see another man of the match performance from the Dubliner.
Sri Lanka Top Batsman – Kusal Perera
Perera did his best to single-handedly chase down Australia in the Sri Lankan’s last match. He knocked a 33 ball half-century, controlling the Australian pace attack and looking comfortable right until the point he was done by a Mitchell Starc yorker. Perera is the batsman England will know they have to remove but expect to see him do some damage before they are able to do so.
Most match sixes – England 0.36
England are the heavy favourites in this market for good reason. If Morgan plays like he did last time out, then he could beat Sri Lanka in this category all by himself. The English batsmen can crush the ball, so expect their overs to be full of big strokes.
Match Prediction
To beat England at this World Cup a team is going to have to out-bat them. That is exactly what Pakistan did in a game England lost despite scoring 334 runs. Sri Lanka just doesn’t have the firepower to compete with England in a run race, nor do they have the bowling depth to slow England down.
