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England will take on Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the three-match series at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday (June 24).
After registering a comfortable victory in the first game by eight wickets and taking a 1-0 lead in the series, the hosts will be confident. The likes of Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone all shined in the series opener. However, the home team would hope to see Dawid Malan and Mark Wood performing up to the mark in the second match.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka would be hoping to bounce back as this is a do-or-die contest for them. The major concern for the visitors is their main batters not clicking at all. Players like Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, and Dhananjaya de Silva disappointed with the bat in the series opener.
Pitch report:
The opening game of the series was a low-scorer, and one can expect the trend to continue. Before the first T20I, the last two T20 Blast games played at this venue were also the low scoring affairs.
Head to Head record:
Matches played: 10 | England: 6 | Sri Lanka Won: 4 | Tied: 0 | No result: 0
Playing Combination:
England:
Sam Curran and Wood were a bit expensive, but Eoin Morgan would want to go with them again in order to assess them one more time. Batters are expected to remain the same as the paltry target didn’t really test the batting line-up.
ENG XI: Eoin Morgan (c), Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan.
Sri Lanka:
Nuwan Pradeep was quite expensive in the first T2OI, although it’s highly unlikely that he would be dropped after one game, but if, in any case, it happens, then Asitha Fernando can replace him in the playing XI.
SL XI: Kusal Perera (c & wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Akila Dananjaya, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep/Asitha Fernando.
