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England vs Sri Lanka 2016, 5th ODI at Cardiff: Visitors’ likely XI

England are already leading by 2-0 in ODI series and Sri Lanka will be playing for final ODI at Cardiff on Saturday.

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Sri Lanka will be hoping to end their campaign on a positive note © Getty Images
Sri Lanka will be hoping to end their campaign on a positive note © Getty Images

After winning the Test series 2-0 and having taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing ODI series, England are set to host Sri Lanka for the final and rather drab match at Cardiff. The visitors will hope to end their ODI campaign on a positive note. Sri Lanka have done their task with the bat but would expect their bowlers to put up a better show if they are to end this series with pride. Sri Lankan bowlers have struggled to make an impact and trouble the English batsmen, who have kept on creating records with every passing match. Skipper Angelo Mathews has played a same side in the first, third and fourth ODI, showing trust in his players. Ahead of this dead-rubber, Shruti Hariharan takes a look at the XI visitors might put up at Cardiff on Saturday: FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs Sri Lanka 2016, 5th ODI at Cardiff

Top-Order: Opening duo could have shown their batting prowess in the last fixture but Kusal Perera was dismissed cheaply, which continued his mediocre run in the ODI series. He will be expected to compliment his partner Danushka Gunathilaka, who scored a half-century in the previous game. Kusal Mendis, in hindsight, has been at his best in the series and once again got a fifty in last game. Another high score can get the final game working in the favor of the visitors.

Middle-Order: Sri Lanka’s middle-order has been spectacular in the ODIs. With Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal at No.4 and 5, the game is pretty much in safe hands. Chandimal added 63 runs while Mathews remained unbeaten at 67 in the fourth ODI. He also managed to push the score beyond 300 mark for the visitors. Seekkuge Prasanna who started off on a high note with a fifty in the first ODI has found it tough going with single digit scores in the previous games. Upul Tharanga did not receive the opportunity to bat in the fourth ODI, but he has done his part in the earlier matches to keep the scoreboard ticking and will be expected to continue his consistency. ALSO READ: Jason Roy registers 2nd highest ODI score for England

Bowling: Sri Lanka’s new found all-rounder Dasun Shanaka remained unbeaten at 19 off 10 deliveries in the previous game. Having picked a fifer in the first ODI in the preceding series against Ireland, he is yet to bring that element back against England. Hopefully, he would try to repeat that performance in the final ODI. After all the hype of his return, Farveez Maharoof has struggled to get going, with just a solitary wicket in the series. Sri Lanka will hope their ace bowler can put up a strong showing and grab a few wickets in the final match. Suranga Lakmal got another important wicket in the previous outing of skipper Eoin Morgan but it was Nuwan Pradeep who stood out as he got the most important wicket of Jason Roy as well as Moeen Ali. The bowlers will be expected to up their performances for the final ODI.

Sri Lanka Likely XI: Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Angelo Mathews (c), Seekkuge Prasanna, Upul Tharanga, Dasun Shanaka, Farveez Maharoof, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep

(Shruti Hariharan is Content Writer with CricketCountry. You can follow her on Twitter at @Shruti_2890)

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