Even though England come on the back off a 2-1 ODI series loss to India, they have an unbeaten record against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka with 7 of 8 games won and one abandoned. The last bilateral series played between the two sides was in 2016, which was clean swept by England. They will look to capitalize and win the crucial ICC Women’s Championship points which will elevate England to the second position of the table if they clean sweep Sri Lanka.
The hosts will look to change the stats on their home turf, although they haven’t had a good 2018-19. They have played 6 ODIs in 2018 and have won only one followed by a whitewashed 3-0 by South Africa at the start of the year. They will look to use the home advantage to defeat England and sway the momentum for their side. This Sri Lankan team looks under the rebuilding phase with a lot of introspection and evaluation, a win will boost their morale.
Key Players
Batswomen:
Tammy Beaumont (England): Tammy Beaumont has been the leading run scorer for England with 537 runs in the ICC Women’s Championship table, having secured the 4th position overall. With an average of 40.10, Beaumont has accumulated 1845 runs in her 59 match ODI career.
Chamari Atapattu (Sri Lanka): The Sri Lanka skipper has scored 2437 runs in 78 matches with the highest score of 178* and an average of 31.64. She will be a formidable opponent and her team will count on her to win matches for her side. She also has 21 scalps. Atapattu is 10th on the table of ICC Women’s Championship table with 451 runs to her name.
Bowlers:
Katherine Brunt (England): Brunt is full of experience and has made 193 appearances for England with 246 wickets across all formats i.e 141 wickets in ODI, 66 wickets in T20I and 39 wickets in Test. She has two four-wicket hauls and five five-wicket hauls, her best bowling figures read 5/18. She has been spectacular in her comeback series against India with a 5-fer in the final ODI which dismantled the Indian batting line up.
Inoka Ranaweera (Sri Lanka): The veteran Sri Lanka bowler has played 55 ODIs picked up 62 wickets. She is one of the most experienced campaigners of the Lankan side with the best figures of 4/53 and an economy of 4.25. Ranaweera had a successful South Africa tour despite the loss, having picked up 5 wickets across 3 matches to secure the second spot on the list of leading wicket-takers.
Numbers to look out for: Sri Lanka has lost all their last 5 ODI matches played against England. Sri Lanka won their last ODI against England in 2013 in Mumbai by 1 wicket which marked their first win on England in last 20 years.
Squad:
Sri Lanka: Chamari Atapattu (c), Prasadani Weerakkody, Anushka Sanjeewani, Hansima Karunaratne, Hasini Perera, Sugandika Kumari, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Shashikala Siriwardena, Nilakshi De Silva, Inoshi Fernando, Kaveesha Dilhari, Achini Kulasuriya, Udeshika Probadhani, Inoka Ranaweera, Oshadi Ranasinghe
England: Tammy Beaumont, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Alex Hartley, Amy Jones (wk), Heather Knight (c), Laura Marsh, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Linsey Smith, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt
ODI Series: 16 March 2019 - 21 March 2019
T20I Series: 24 March 2019 - 28 March 2019
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