Sri Lanka
Photo Credits: Twitter

Sri Lanka will lock horns with the Netherlands in the ninth game of the T20 World Cup at Geelong.

After being handed a shocking defeat by Namibia in the opening game of the World Cup, Sri Lanka made a great comeback by defeating the UAE side on Tuesday, by 79 runs.

Pathum Nissanka was the player of the match for his batting efforts, while Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga bowled dream spells to ensure a thumping win for Sri Lanka.

Pathum Nissanka
Photo Credits: Twitter

The likes of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka and Charith Asalanka must step up today if they want to secure a Super 12 berth for their team.

The Lankan side got a huge blow as their ace pacer, Dushmantha Chameera was ruled out of the tournament, Sri Lanka must find someone to fill his boots.

On the other hand, Netherlands have had a dream World Cup campaign so far, being placed at the top of the Group A points table with two successive victories.

Both their games have gone down to the wire and the Dutch managed to get over the line with narrow margins of victory.

Their bowling unit of the Dutch has been outstanding, they restricted both UAE and Namibia to below-par totals. The Dutch seamers have made it extremely tough for the opening batters to accelerate on Geelong’s two-paced deck, varying their pace and length brilliantly.

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Bas de Leede has been very impressive with both the bat and ball. His all-round performances have helped the Netherlands to sit on top of the points table.

Bas de Leede
Photo Credits: Twitter

The Openers have done well for the Netherlands but their middle order has not turned up, they took the game to the last over to chase around 120 on both occasions.

Both the teams would like their middle-order batters to stand up, Colin Ackermann, Tom Cooper and Scott Edwards, need to put up impactful performances today for the Men in Orange.

We have a bruised Sri Lanka on one side and a spirited Dutch unit on the other. Although Sri Lanka will start as favourites, the surface in Geelong has already warned them not to take their opponents lightly.

Sri Lanka vs Netherlands Pitch Report

The pitch at Simonds Stadium has been a good sporting track with assistance for both bowlers and batters. The new ball moves a bit in the initial overs. Spinners might play a crucial role in the middle over. The skipper winning the toss might want to have a bat first as the pitch seems to slow down a touch in the latter half of the second innings.

Sri Lanka vs Netherlands Squads

Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Colin Ackermann, Shariz Ahmad, Logan van Beek, Tom Cooper, Brandon Glover, Timm van der Gugten, Fred Klaassen, Bas de Leede, Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe, Stephan Myburgh, Teja Nidamanuru, Max O’Dowd, Tim Pringle, Vikram Singh.

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Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan.