Skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first against England in an imporrant Group 1, Super-12 encounter at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
In order to get to the one remaining semifinal berth , England would need to defeat the Asia Cup Champions. If they lose, they’ll have to take a flight back to the UK.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka, who fluctuated throughout the competition, will try to live up to their title as Asian Champions.
“We are going to bat first. It’s a used wicket, last 7 games were won by teams batting first. We have one change, Karunaratne is in for Madushan. It’s an important game for us, we want to carry the pride for us. Hope we’ll get some turn,” said Dasun Shanaka after winning the toss.
England skipper Jos Buttler expressed that he would have also liked to bat first had he won the toss and also informed about the playing eleven for the match.
“It’s a used wicket, we need to play well, we need to play our best cricket. Would have batted first as well. We need to adapt to the conditions quickly, we have plenty of options with seam and spin. We are going in with the same team,” Jos Buttler said during the toss.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha
England (Playing XI):
Alex Hales, Jos Buttler(w/c), Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, and Mark Wood
(inputs from ANI)