Sri Lanka vs England ODI Predictions – Mendis to add to England’s elimination misery

Simon Lewis

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Last updated: 2 hours ago

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Simon Lewis 2 hours ago

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Sri Lanka are through to Saturday's final after bowling Pakistan out for 110 on the way to an eight-wicket win.
England have lost their three matches in the tri-series including a high-scoring defeat.
After chasing 430 to beat England last week, can Sri Lanka make it two wins from two against Harry Brook's side?

Kamindu Mendis hit 62* in the win over Pakistan (Getty Images).

Sri Lanka are the value selection despite England's status as short-priced favourites. Their seamers destroyed Pakistan in Lahore on Tuesday and their batting recovered from 24/2 to overhaul England's 429/4 in Rawalpindi.

Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis made 62* from 60 balls in their 8-wicket win vs Pakistan.
Sri Lanka's Pavan Rathnayake hit 130 off 106 balls vs England.
Sri Lanka's Dilshan Madushanka took 5/34 to roll Pakistan for 110.
England's Harry Brook hit 202 off 116 balls with 10 sixes in the defeat vs Sri Lanka.
England's Ben Duckett struck 105 vs Pakistan.
England's while Jamie Overton took 3/43 vs Pakistan.

Head-to-Head

England have won three of the last five completed ODIs between the countries while Sri Lanka have won two of those matches. Sri Lanka prevailed by two wickets with one ball remaining on 22 October after chasing England's score of 429/4.

Sri Lanka Form

Kusal Mendis' men have recovered from their opening ODI 37-run loss to Pakistan with two emphatic victories that highlighted the incredible potential of their batters.

The batting heroes of the astonishing run chase against England were Pavan Rathnayake (130), Dasun Shanaka (97), Avishka Fernando (97) and Janith Liyanage (61*).

Against Pakistan three days later Madushanka's five-wicket haul and Kamindu Mendis' unbeaten 62 completed a commanding win and was a great reply to their defeat in the opener.

England Form

England are 0-3 in the tri-series tournament and are likely to head home winless, unless Sri Lanka rest most of their key players.

Skipper Harry Brook's historic 202 was not enough as England's bowlers failed to defend their huge score of 429 at Rawalpindi. They then failed to defend a more modest 241 in Lahore, where Shadab Khan's unbeaten 113 helped Pakistan win by one wicket.

Ben Duckett's hit 105 off 111 balls and Jamie Overton's picked up 3/43 in their last defeat to Pakistan. Liam Dawson's controlled bowling (2/20) was another positive to come out of England's one-wicket defeat to Pakistan.

Team News

Sri Lanka have already qualified for the final and may rest key players before facing Pakistan in Saturday's final. England are likely to use the dead rubber to experiment with their attack.

Lahore has produced contrasting scores this week: England were all out for 241 on Sunday while Pakistan collapsed for 110 on Tuesday, so a run-heavy prediction is not automatic.

Sri Lanka (possible XI): Kamindu Mendis, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (c), Pavan Rathnayake, Dasun Shanaka, Janith Liyanage, Sahan Arachchige, Dunith Wellalage, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka.

England (possible XI): Tom Banton, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Jamie Over-ton, Liam Dawson, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, Henry Crocombe.

Verdict

Sri Lanka v England ODI

Sri Lanka are backed to make it two wins on the bounce against England. Dilshan Madushanka offers an appealing angle as Sri Lanka's best bowler while Harry Brook's recent runs feast make him worth backing for England.

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Simon is a talented sports writer in South Africa with a strong focus on cricket having played first-team level for UCT, including playing at two Universities Weeks.

From a young age Simon was an avid reader of cricket magazines and books, and went on to be Editor of The Googly, CricketScene SA and SA Cricket, in addition to being a Features Writer on SA Sports Illustrated.

He has interviewed most of South Africa's premier cricketers and was the first writer to interview a teenaged Jacques Kallis.

Simon has also written about English and local football, rugby and cricket, in addition to major international tennis and golf stars and competitions.

You can follow more from Simon at Muckrack, X and LinkedIn.