Sri Lanka under pressure heading to Bristol

Sri Lanka's hopes of recording a first win over England on its tour - following a 2-0 Test-series reverse - could be dented by the unavailability of two key players, with injury concerns surrounding skipper Angelo Mathews and wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal.

Published : Jun 25, 2016 22:15 IST , Bristol

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews
lightbox-info

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews

Sri Lanka will face the challenge of bouncing back from a humiliating defeat when it face England in the third One-Day International in Bristol on Sunday.

There could hardly have been a sharper contrast between the first two contests of the five-match series. Liam Plunkett hit a six off the last ball to rescue a tie for England in Trent Bridge on Tuesday, before the host sensationally chased down a target of 255 without losing a single wicket in Edgbaston.

After seeing opposition openers Alex Hales and Jason Roy contribute respective unbeaten scores of 133 and 112 on Friday, Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews stated: "We have to try to flush it out of the system and forget about this game as quickly as possible."

The tourist can no longer win the multi-format Super Series, but a victory in Bristol would see them pull level in the one-day rubber ahead of next week's fixtures at The Oval and Cardiff.

Missing key players

Sri Lanka's hopes of recording a first win over England on its tour - following a 2-0 Test-series reverse - could be dented by the unavailability of two key players, with injury concerns surrounding Mathews and wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal.

Mathews was unable to bowl in Edgbaston after being passed fit to play despite a hamstring problem, while Chandimal appeared to suffer a similar injury and did not keep wicket.

England, by contrast, appears to have no selection worries following their emphatic success last time out.

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid will look to continue his impressive form with the ball, which has so far brought figures of 2-70 from 20 overs in the series, while Hales comes into the match having scored 50 or more, including two hundreds and a 99, in six of his last seven ODI innings.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment