Published: Mar 26, 2014, 10:34 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 26, 2014, 10:36 AM (IST)
By Shrikant Shankar
Mar 26, 2014
England head into a crucial ICC World T20 2014 clash with strong favourites Sri Lanka in Group 1 on March 27. England have already lost their first match in the T20 World Cup against New Zealand. Sri Lanka, on the other hand have won both their matches so far. A victory for the Lankans puts them as odds on to qualify for the semi-final. On the other hand, a loss for England could effectively send them out. While Sri Lanka are at the top of Group 1, England are placed at fourth ahead of only the Netherlands.
It was not an ideal start for England in the T20 World Cup as their match against New Zealand at Chittagong was heavily affected due to rain, thunderstorm and lightning. Captain Stuart Broad was not at all happy with the umpires’ decision to continue play despite some very inclement weather. In the end Broad was fined. Nothing seems to be going in the England team’s favour ever since the Ashes 2013-14 series. They are though desperate for a win.
Sri Lanka were considered by many as the main favourites to win the competition. At the moment they are producing the performances required by a team expected to win. They played out a very close match against South Africa, but had the wherewithal to come through with the win. They then thrashed minnows the Netherlands as if it were some PC game being played in ‘village mode’. It is quite common for teams in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) to have their lowest totals against Sri Lanka. Now the trend is in Twenty20 Internationals.
All this bodes well for the Sri Lankans heading into the final two matches of the group phase. Their recordagainst England and New Zealand in tournament matches is impressive and their familiarity with playing in these conditions will help them even further. Sri Lanka are a very settled side and have a lot of utility players. They are led by Dinesh Chandimal and although his captaincy skills are yet to be really tested, he has led them to two victories.
They have a good batting line-up with the Sanath Jayasuriya-like Kusal Perera. Some of the youngster’s strokes takes one right back to the 1990s and early 2000s. Tillakaratne Dilshan is completely out of form, but one good innings can change any game. Then come the awesome twosome of Sri Lanka — Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. They are followed by the power-hitting all-rounders in Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera. Lahiru Thirimanne is a good batsman in the shorter formats.
In the bowling department, their spinners are a good bunch. Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake and Ajantha Mendis can trouble any batting line-up in conditions found in Chittagong. Seekkuge Prasanna is the reserve leg-spinner. Their fast bowlers are as good as any in T20 cricket. It is hard to find better end-overs bowlers than Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga. Both can be relied up on taking wickets at the beginning and also at the end of the innings. Suranga Lakmal is also an option they can use.
England are a very inconsistent lot and need many of their players to have good days at the same time to get wins. Only two players seem consistent on a regular basis — Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler. They also face some issues with players’ injuries. Three of their squad members withdrew with injuries. Michael Lumb and Alex Hales open the batting and both need to take Sri Lanka’s bowlers on if England are to keep a momentum going. They seem a little pedestrian and cannot change gears fast enough in T20 cricket. However, England’s biggest test lies in facing the Sri Lankan spinners, and the track at the Chittagong Stadium in all likelihood is expected to be spin-friendly.
Moeen Ali played well against New Zealand, but to face Malinga and co., would be a different test altogether. Morgan and Buttler come in next. Ravi Bopara and Craig Kieswetter make up the main batting line-up. Ian Bell seems to be present just to make up the numbers. England have some good all-rounders in Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Tim Bresnan and captain Broad. James Tredwell is their main spinner while Stephen Parry can also be used in the slow tracks.
Fast bowling is where England’s main concerns are. One doesn’t know what to expect from Jade Dernbach and the likes of Broad, Woakes, Jordan and Bresnan can be very erratic in T20 cricket. England are not a steeled side and they have their task cut out against the mighty Sri Lankans. A spot in the semi-finals and elimination may not be decided after the game, but Sri Lanka and England respectively will get closer to those two options if the former continues its winning momentum.
Squads:
England: Stuart Broad (c), Michael Lumb, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler (wk), Luke Wright, James Tredwell, Stephen Parry, Chris Jordan, Jade Dernbach, Tim Bresnan, Chris Woakes, Ian Bell.
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (c), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sachithra Senanayake, Lahiru Thirimanne.
Time: 19:00 IST | 13:30 GMT
ICC World T20 2014 schedule: Match time table with venue details
ICC World T20 2014 Points Table and Team Standings
(Shrikant Shankar is a writer/reporter at CricketCountry.com. Previously he has done audio commentary for various matches involving India, Indian Premier League and Champions League Twenty20 for ESPNSTAR.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Shrikant_23)
