Who knew England will find themselves in an all-hands-on-deck situation halfway into the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023? Loss of form to key players including skipper Jos Buttler, injuries, confused approach has led to England's downfall in the ongoing tournament. They are not out of it yet but they find themselves in a desperate situation of winning everything from now on and the first opponent will be Sri Lanka. England might be happy with the opponent since Sri Lanka haven't been in great touch and they too are in a must-win situation, however, the past hasn't been kind to the defending champions against the Lankan lions.
Since 1999, when England last beat Sri Lanka in World Cup, the defending champions have lost on all four occasions in CWC against Sri Lanka since 2007. Sri Lanka won all four match es against England in 2007, 2011, 2015 and even in the 2019 edition where Eoin Morgan and Co. went all the way. However, this time this Sri Lankan side doesn't look that strong or confident to challenge a team like England, especially on a surface like Bengaluru which the hitters of Jos Buttler and Co. will love. England are favourites to win and will need those points to keep their campaign alive and so did Sri Lanka.
Bengaluru weather forecast
England will find better weather than Mumbai as they travel down south to pleasant Bengaluru. The extreme conditions in Mumbai affected England's performance while fielding following one of the worst decisions after winning the toss. The weather is clear as day on Thursday for the England-Sri Lanka match with no chance of rain. It will be a little hot with the sun shining during the daytime, however, the breeze is likely to keep things a little better. The evening will get pleasant as the sun sets and the team bowling second might get a little movement. However, it might not make much difference as the surface is likely to remain the same for 100 overs, which is good and flat.
The temperatures will hover around a high of 31 degrees and a low of 19 degrees.
Probable playing XIs
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (c), Ben Stokes, Harry Brook/Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali/David Willey, Sam Curran/Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Dushan Hemantha/Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka
