Can confident Sri Lanka Comeback with an ODI series win before Worldcup?

The first ODI is between SL and SA will be held on 3rd of March 2019 at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. 30,000 people can watch in the stadium. Corlett Drive and Golf Course are the two ends of the ground. 312 and 227 runs are the average runs for the both first and second innings respectively. Six ODIs have already played at this ground. 3 matches have been won by bowling first and 3 matches by batting first. So, the stats evoke a 50-50 possibility. 

Accordingly, modern games always have a trend to bat second. Yes, it's pretty good to look at the score and make a plan towards the target. 

On the other hand, 439 is the highest score recorded for the first innings. So, a captain might think 'WIN THE TOSS BAT FIRST.' Actually all the things gotta come into play according to the given pitch. So, the best 11 gotta discuss during the last hour. 

In addition, From Sri Lanka perspective seven batsmen and four bowlers gotta play in the team. Three seamers and a spinner are gonna help to balance the side on the pacy South African track. 

Further more, Tharanga and Dikwella must be the two openers because they're pretty aggressive, especially when it comes to run-chasing. Kusal Janith Perera is also a very good aggressive player plus Kusal Mendis. So, in at numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 belong to aggressive batsmen. This is for the mandatory power play plus for the rest of the overs. Dhananjaya De Silva and Kamindu Mendis gotta play a role in the middle overs. Sri Lanka got a great slogger for death overs. He's Thisara Perera. He can join with a batsman or with a bowling all-arounder and accumulate the runs with a good speed.

Moreover, #Team_D_ Facto suggests the mistery bowler Akila Dananjaya and three super pace bowlers, Lasith Malinga, Vishwa Fernando and Isuru Udana for the pacy South African track.

Finally, all eleven can bat.  Sri Lanka got waggy tail enders. Their contribution will be vital for the results of the game.

Sri Lanka name strong Squad for South Africa ODI Series

Ahead of the very exciting ICC Cricket Worldcup Sri Lanka seems to be going in the right direction as they have been able to add lots of positives into the team after their historical Test win against South Africa in South Africa.

One of the major positives is that Akila Dananjaya has been cleared by ICC to bowl again in international matches .Also Lankans have been able to add some very exciting new players into the squad after changing of the selection commitee.

Sri Lanka has given chances to many new players and players who were out of the squad in the South African series.

Experienced Upul Tharanga,Isuru Udana and Akila Dananjaya are major comebacks to the team and they have also added 6 new faces into the team who are yet to play matches and players who have played just 1 or 2 matches.

Lasith Malinga will continue as the Lankan Captain and full Squad for the series is as follows:

1.Lasith Malinga(c)

2.Avishka Fernando

3.Upul Tharanga 

4.Niroshan Dickwella(vc)

5.Kusal Perera

6.Kusal Mendis

7.Dhananjaya De Silva

8.Thisara Perera

9.Akila Dananjaya

10.Angelo Perera

11.Oshada Fernando

12.Kamindu Mendis

13.Priyamal Perera

14.Isuru Udana

15.Vishwa Fernando

16.Kasun Rajitha

17.Lakshan Sandakan

Strong New Zealand make it 2-0

It was another great day for the boys in black as they were able to completely outplay the Bangladesh team and was able to take a comfortable series win with 1 match remaining to be played.

Earlier in the match New Zealand won the toss and decided to field first.Accepting the invitation to bat Bangladesh could only add 226 runs to the scoreboard by loosing all their 10 wickets.

In reply New Zealand only needed 36.1 overs to wrap up the win as they acheived the target by loosing only 2 wickets.

Martin Guptill played exceptionally well for New Zealand to get them an easy win as he scored 118 runs off just 88 balls.

Player of the match was Martin Guptill.

With that win series has been decided and we have got 1 dead rubber match to go and it will be a good chance for Bangladesh to test their side before Worldcup in pacer friendly conditions.

Full match summary is as follows:

BANGLADESH                    226-10(49.4 overs)

M.Mithun            57           L.Ferguson      4-43

NEW ZEALAND                  229-2(36.1 overs)

M.Guptill           118          M.Rahman      2-42

             New Zealand won by 8 wickets
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Shakib Al Hasan likely to miss New Zealand series

Shakib Al Hasan who is one of the main All rounders in Bangladesh team is likely to miss out the limited over series and Test series which is set to be played in New Zealand due to getting an injury in his left arm ring finger .

He was injured due to taking a blow from Thisara Perera in the Bangladesh Premier League Final which was played last friday.

As per the medical officers the affected area has to be immobilised for 3 weeks and additionally he will have to get some more recovery time to get back on the field.

With the current situation he is likely to miss out both Limited over series and Test series in this crucial series which will be one of their last chances to get prepared to the ICC World Cup.

Bangladesh team did not have a very good record previously in New Zealand and this will be a good oppurtunity to them to create history and go to the Worldcup with confidence.

All Round Comilla Victorians become BPL Champions

Bangladesh Premier League which was scheduled with in a very limited time period concluded yesterday night with an very exciting high scoring thriller by letting Comilla Victorians take the title.

Match started with Dynamites captain winning the toss and  deciding to field first.Accepting the invitation Victorians got a very good score of 199 runs on the board due to a great inning from Tamim Iqbal who scored unbeaten 141 runs.

In reply Dynamites very only able to score 182 runs by loosing 9 wickets.

Player of the match was Tamim Iqbal for his very good inning and player of the series was Shakib Al Hasan.

Full match summary of the final is as follows:

Comilla Victorians                 199-3(20 overs)

T.Iqbal             141*             S.Al Hasan    1-45

Dhaka Dynamites                  182-9(20 overs)

R.Talukdar        66                W.Riaz          3-28

              Victorians won by 17 runs

2 nd T20 India vs New Zealand Match Update:India fight back to make it 1-1

It was a good day for Indian team at the office as they were able to win the second T20 very comprehensively by beating New Zealand by 7 wickets.

Day started with New Zealand captain winning the toss and taking a surprising decision to bat first in a small ground.

New Zealand lost few early wickets but managed to fight back with Taylor-Grandhomme partnership.But Indian bowlers bowled exceptionally well at the end and limited New Zealand for 158 runs.

In reply India chased the score down in just 18.5 overs by loosing only 3 wickets.Rohit Sharma played a captain's knock by getting 50 runs off 29 balls.

Player of the match was Krunal Pandya for his exceptional bowling spell of 3 wickets for 28 runs.

With that win Series is levelled at 1-1  with one match to go.

Full match summary is as follows:

NEW ZEALAND                        158-8(20 overs)

Grandhomme       50                  K.Pandya   3-28

INDIA                                           162-3(18.5 overs)

R.Sharma            50                   D.Mitchelle 1-15

                       India won by 7 wickets

Ponting ready to guide Australia for another worldcup win

World Cup winning Captain Australia's Ricky Ponting has been named as the Assistant Head Coach of Australia for the ICC ODI World Cup which is set to start on 30 th May this year.

He is said to be focused more on batting strength of the team before going into the World Cup in addition to their regular batting coach.

'' I am really excited to be joining the coaching group for this year's World Cup .I 've enjoyed my previous short term roles with ODI and T20 Teams but World Cup takes on a whole different meaning for me'' were the words said by Ponting after his appoinment.

Ricky Ponting has played 375 ODI's and has played 5 worldcups and has led Australia in three of  them.

Head Coach Justin Langer was highly delighted with the presence of Ponting at the dressing room as he can make a big difference to Australia's rebuilding ODI side.

I have never doubted Babar says Pakistan Head Coach

Babar Azam who is one of the best Batsman in current cricket world had a very good outing yesterday in spite of Team loosing the match by a close margin of 7 runs.

He was able to score 90 runs off just 58 balls which gave lots of hopes to Pakistan Fans before he was dismissed.

But Pakistan Head Coach Mickey Arthur says that is not the best which Babar had to offer and he also said that:

''I have never doubted Babar.I said two years ago that he was going to be that good.''

In additionally he said that;

''The exciting thing is that we haven't seen the best of him yet.He is going to get better and better.''

Babar Azam has been one of the highest run getter in T20 format after he was introduced to the format and he has scored 1159 runs in 28 matches at an average of 55.19 .

Pakistan Head Coach was not hesitant to say Babar will be as good as Virat Kholi before even he was introduced properly to International stage and he looks on the way to prove his statement.

South Africa clinch 2-0 win in spite of Babar Azam's brilliant effort with bat

It was thriller of a match in Wanderers as Pakistan took on South Africa in another high scoring encounter.

Earlier in the day Pakistan decided to bowl first in a very good pitch to bat on.Accepting the invitation to bat on South Africa added on 188 runs on the board by hitting Bowlers all around the park mainly in last 5 overs.

David Miller was the star performer with the bat for South Africa as he scored unbeaten 65 from just 29 balls.

In reply Pakistan got to a very good start with the great effort from Babar Azam who scored 90 off just 58 balls.But Pakistan middle and lower order could not carry on the momentum as they ended up at 181 for 7 wickets.

Player of the match was David Miller and full match summary is as follows:

SOUTH AFRICA               188-3(20 overs)

D.Miller         65*              I.Wasim               1-9

PAKISTAN                        181-7(20 overs)

B.Azam          90                A.Phehlukwayo  3-36

              South Africa won by 7 runs

Windies beat England by 10 wickets to make it 2-0

Good days for Windies Test cricket is back as they were able to get a much needed series win yesterday over the very good England Test side with 1 match still to be played.

England came with high hopes for the second Test after their very poor performance in 1 st Test.But bad story continued for England in Windies as they were just bowled out for 187 in 1 st inning.

In reply Windies were able to add on a very good score of 306 on the board.

Coming up with intensions to bat long England again did not managed to bat well in second inning as they were bowled out for just 132 runs.

In the final Inning England only needed 14 runs to win and target was acheived in just 2.1 overs with 10 wickets still in hand.

Player of the match was Kemar Roach for his wonderful bowling effort.

Full match summary is as follows:

ENGLAND(1 st inning)        187-10(61 overs)

M.Ali            60                   K.Roach   4-30

WINDIES(1 st inning)           306-10(131 overs)

D.Bravo        50                   S.Braod     3-53

ENGLAND(2 nd inning)          132-10(42.1 overs)

J.Buttler        24                   J.Holder     4-43

WINDIES(2 nd inning)              17-0(2.1 overs)

J.Campbell    11*           

                  Windies won by 10 wickets

2 nd Test Sri Lanka vs Australia 2 nd Day Report:Sri Lankan openers fight back after a very good batting effort by Australia

It was a very good day for Australian Batsmen as they managed to extend their score upto 534 runs for just 5 wickets before they decided to declare.

Unfortunately Joe Burns missed his double century as he was dismissed by Kasun Rajitha for 180 runs.

But Kurtis Patterson managed to get his maiden century as he scored unbeaten 114 runs.

In reply Sri Lanka got to a very good start before Dimuth Karunarathne was hit by a bouncer and had to get retired.

Taking the oppurtunity Australian bowlers managed to make inroads into Lankan batting order as they were able to take 3 wickets for 126 runs at the end of the day.

Sri Lanka still trail by 411 runs Batsmen at the middle for Sri Lanka now are Kusal Perera who is on 11 and Dhananjaya De Silva who is on 1.

Full match summary at the end of Day 2 is as follows:

AUSTRALIA(1 st inning)       534-5(132 overs)

J.Burns             180                V.Fernando      3-126

SRI LANKA(1 st inning)        123-3(43 overs)

D.Karunaratne   46*               P.Cummins      1-25

                 Sri Lanka trail by 411 runs

2 nd Test Sri Lanka vs Australia 1 st day Analysis:Australia on top as Joe Burns get close to a double century

It was a day started with Sri Lanka getting 3 early wickets for just 28 runs but ended up in the usual pattern as Australian batsmen were able finish on a high on 384 for 4 wickets.

Australian captain won the toss and decided to bat in very good conditions for batting.But two new Sri Lankan bowling openers Vishwa and Karunarathne managed to send back Harris,Khawaja and Labuschagne for 11,0 and 6 runs.

But Sri Lanka lost the grip again as they allowed Head and Burns to get 308 runs partnerhip on board and it nearly took the game away from the Lankans.

Joe Burns were able to remain unbeaten on 172 runs as Travis Head added 161 runs on board.

Vishwa Fernando took 3 wickets for 99 runs in the day for Sri Lanka and Debutant Chamika Karunaratne took 1 wicket for 87 runs.

We mentioned 350 as the par score here and game has already started to shift towards Australia and Sri Lanka will have to bat extremely well here to save this game from here on.

2 nd Test Windies vs England 1 st day analysis:Windies on top as England bowled out for 187

England came into second Test with lots of hopes to make a comeback into the series after the massive loss they faced in the  1 st Test.

But 1 st day did not go so well for England as they were bowled out for just 187 runs by the Windies seamers.

Only Moeen Ali and Jonny Baristow managed to get some kind of score on the board as they were able to score 60 and 52 respectively.

Kemar Roach was the highest wickt taker for Windies again as he took 4 wickets for 30 runs.Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph helped him with 3 wickets and 2 wickets each.

At the end of the day Windies managed to score 30 runs in reply without loosing a wicket in the few overs they had to face.

Windies now only trail England 1 st inning by just 157 runs with 10 wickets in hand.

Situation at the end of 1 st day is as follows:

ENGLAND(1 st inning)        187-10(61 overs)

M.Ali            60                   K.Roach   4-30

WINDIES(1 st inning)           30-0(21 overs)

J.Campbell    16* 

                  Windies trail by 157 runs             

2 nd Test Sri Lanka vs Australia Live:Head-Burns fight back after loosing 3 early wickets

32 overs are done and dusted here at Canberra after Australia won the toss and decided to bat first in a good pitch to bat on.

Australia could not get into a great start this time as they lost 3 early wickets for just 28 runs due to some exceptional bowling from Sri Lanka's new opening bowling pair Vishwa Fernando and Chamika Karunarathne.

But as usual Sri Lanka could not maintain the necessary pressure and they allowed Joe Burns and Travis Head to free their hands.

Currently the pair at the crease has build 98 runs unbeaten partnership as they have taken Australia to 126 runs for just 3 wickets.

Batsmen at the crease Joe Burns is on 58 now and Travis Head is on 50.

Pitch looks ideal for batsmen after 1 st hour of some assistant for Pacers and we would reckon 350 would be the ideal par score for 1 st inning as it would be much easier to bat on in second and third day here.

2 nd Test Windies vs England Live:Windies seamers get through the England Top order with ease

England in trouble again here at Antigua as Windies bowlers has started to make inroads regularly without letting them get any kind of momentum to the inning.

Only 26 overs are yet bowled in England inning and they have already lost 5 wickets for 87 runs.

Batsmen at the middle for England now are Moeen Ali who is on 3 and Ben Stokes who is on 13.

Roach and Alzarri Joseph has taken 2 wickets each so far for Windies and Jason Holder was able to take the other wicket.

Average 1 st inning score here at Antigua is 307 .But this pitch looks more helpful for bowlers than the pitches we had here earlier so we would reckon 250 as a par score here and England will have to bat extremely well here to get somewhere close.

Watch whether England will be able to fight back from our Live Score Box.