Sri Lanka and England are ready to battle it out in the first ODI of the five-match series, which will be played in Dambulla on Wednesday.
The hosts will be desperate to turn things around after having a horrendous time in the recently concluded Asia Cup, where they suffered humiliating exit from the first stage and was knocked out after failing to win even a single match in the tournament.
After such poor performance, there were calls for drastic changes in the team which saw all-rounder Angelo Mathews losing his ODI captaincy. Not only that as he was also dropped from the squad for the series against England as well.
England, on the other hand, are coming into this series with the label of being one of the best in the world in this format, and will be eager to continue strengthening their status with another impressive outing.
In their last 50-over assignment, the Eoin Morgan-led unit registered an impressive 2-1 win against Virat Kohli-led India.
Key Players
Jos Buttler – 9.5 Cr
First in the list of key players features England vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler, who is in a prime form in the 50-over format. The 28-year-old has scored three half-centuries and one century in last six innings, and three of those innings came at a strike-rate of over 100. Valued at 9.5 Cr, Buttler will be an expensive acquisition, but is someone who can turn the match around in the matter of couple of overs, and keeping
Sri Lanka and England are ready to battle it out in the first ODI of the five-match series, which will be played in Dambulla on Wednesday.
The hosts will be desperate to turn things around after having a horrendous time in the recently concluded Asia Cup, where they suffered humiliating exit from the first stage and was knocked out after failing to win even a single match in the tournament.
After such poor performance, there were calls for drastic changes in the team which saw all-rounder Angelo Mathews losing his ODI captaincy. Not only that as he was also dropped from the squad for the series against England as well.
England, on the other hand, are coming into this series with the label of being one of the best in the world in this format, and will be eager to continue strengthening their status with another impressive outing.
In their last 50-over assignment, the Eoin Morgan-led unit registered an impressive 2-1 win against Virat Kohli-led India.
Key Players
Jos Buttler – 9.5 Cr
First in the list of key players features England vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler, who is in a prime form in the 50-over format. The 28-year-old has scored three half-centuries and one century in last six innings, and three of those innings came at a strike-rate of over 100. Valued at 9.5 Cr, Buttler will be an expensive acquisition, but is someone who can turn the match around in the matter of couple of overs, and keeping in mind his good form recently, he might prove to be an ideal player to bet on.
Akila Dananjaya – 9 Cr
Second in the list of key players is Sri Lanka off-spinner Akila Dananjaya. The 25-year-old has cemented his place in the playing eleven as the premier spinner in the last 12 months and has shown what he is capable in the due process. Dananjaya is in relatively good form as well after claiming 10 wickets in last four outings, one of which included his career-best figures of six for 29 against South Africa in Colombo. Keeping England's struggle against India's Kuldeep Yadav in the limited overs series in mind, Dananjaya, who is valued at 9 Cr, is surely going to be an excellent pick because the home conditions will be ideal for his bowling as well.
Thisara Perera – 9 Cr
Last in the list of key players is Sri Lana all-rounder Thisara Perera. The 29-year-old is going to be the second-most experienced player in the squad after veteran opener Upul Tharanga. Perera is Sri Lanka's star performer both with bat and ball over the course of last 12 months. In the last seven innings with the bat, Perera has scored 179 runs at an average of 30 and with the ball, has claimed 13 wickets in the due process, which included a five-for in the last match against Afghanistan. Valued at 9 Cr, Perera is the kind of player who has all the qualities to become a real trump card as he can bowl those cutters which can be an extremely helpful tool on slow pitches, whereas he can also contribute with the bat lower down the order.
