Sri Lanka Vs England – 4th Quarter Final, Match Preview

Sri Lanka Vs England – 4th Quarter Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

Another game involving England, yes they have made it through to the quarter finals after all the ups and downs and gut wrenching moments that they gave us till now!! Do they have enough in their tanks to topple the mighty Sri Lankans in their own backyard, their fortress – The R Premadasa at Colombo.

England have a battle hardened captain in Andrew Strauss to open the batting along with a struggling Matt Prior. Jonathan Trott and Ian bell have been in fine nick and the addition of Eoin Morgan has strengthened the English middle order immensely Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann have all been contributing with the bat in their own little ways. The bowling is led by off spinner Graeme Swann but he was ably supported by James Tredwell in the last match Vs West Indies. Tim Bresnan has bowled his heart out but James Anderson has been pretty ordinary thus far!!

The Sri Lankans on the other hand have all their top order batsmen in ominous form with Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene all having scored hundreds at some point or the other till now in this World Cup!! The middle order though is a bit of a concern for them as they have not spent enough time in the middle till now. The bowling is led by the unconventional Lasith Malinga and he has for support the old war horse Muttiah Murlitharan. They also have Angelo Matthews and Ajantha Mendis who can bamboozle the English with his variations.

Expect a thriller, a noisy stadium and a party crowd come this Saturday, this will be one of the best Quarter Final matches…

Key Battles to look out for in the match between Sri Lanka Vs England, 26th March - R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka

1. Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene Vs Graeme Swann

2. Lasith Malinga Vs Andrew Strauss

3. Muttiah Murlitharan, Ajantha Mendis Vs Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell,Eoin Morgan