England look to close in on semis spot with victory over Sri Lanka

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

A rampaging England will look to extend their unbeaten run in the T20 World Cup with a victory over a hapless Sri Lanka in Sharjah on Monday.

England are brimming with confidence after three straight wins in the showpiece event. England are placed in the group of death with Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Indies.

Only two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.

England after winning all three matches have six points in their kitty and are at the top of their group.

England got their campaign off to a winning start with the West Indies rout. They bowled out the world champions for a paltry 55 run — the second lowest score in the history of the tournament.

They also defeated Australia by eight wickets in their last match. After restricting Australia to a modest total of 125, England reached the target in just 12 overs for the loss of two wickets only.

England have a very strong batting line-up. The openers Jason Roy and Jos Buttler can set the tempo for a big total with a good foundation. They can tear apart even the best bowling attack of the world and it was evident against Australia.

Chasing an easy total, the openers had tilted the game in the favor of England with a 66-run opening stand. Buttler hammered 32-ball 71 to lead the chase.

Morgan said Buttler is not only leading England batting but also has changed the way the game is played. Buttler had scored 24 in their chase of 55 against West Indies.

Their middle order is further consolidated by the presence of Living Limestone, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan.

England are one of the top most contenders for the prestigious title after a stellar start to the tournament. Despite playing without their mean bowlers like Ben Stokes and all-rounder Jofra Archer, England have notched up three straight victories

Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan along with Tymal Mills are discharging their duties in the pace battery. While Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid have raised the benchmark of spin bowling with mesmerizing performances so far.

Both spinners shared six wickets between them against West Indies to help England set up a facile win in their opening match and set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will look to bring their faltering campaign back on the track by pulling off an upset win against the mighty England.

After winning their opening match, Lanka have lost two matches in a row, which has put their semi-final chances in peril. They had a very good chance to beat South Africa in the last match and boost their semi-final hopes but they failed to hold their nerve and could not defend 15 runs in the last over.

This is a must win game for Lanka if they want to keep their semi-finals hopes alive. Even if they do win against England, they will have to depend on a series of other results to go in their favour to make it to the last 4.

Sri Lanka have been let down by their bowling in two of the three matches. Despite posting a fighting total of 171 in their opening match, they were beaten by Australia as their bowling failed to defend the huge total, which put the batting under pressure.

Lanka have a strong team but they have failed to click as a unit. Wanindu Hasaranga’s took a hat-trick and Pathum Nissanka struck a fifty but rest of the players could not come up with a winning performance.

They will pin hopes of the openers to give them a blazing start and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka and Avishka Fernando can propel the score to a fighting total.

In bowling, Hasaranga is their most potent weapon and can trigger the collapse if he finds the spot. Dushmantha Chameera can choke the flow of runs to mount pressure from the other end while Dasun Shanaka can also chip in with one-two useful overs.