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England vs Sri Lanka 1st T20 Tips - England to claim easy win

By Rahul Varma

21 Jun 2021

Rahul Varma 21 Jun 2021

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England vs Sri Lanka predictions for Wednesday’s T20I cricket match
Dawid Malan averages over 50.15 in T20I cricket
Predictions, stats, team news & preview

Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan backed to score in 1st T20 against Sri Lanka (Getty Images)

England vs Sri Lanka Tips

England will be confident of beating Sri Lanka despite not being at full strength. Dawid Malan is ranked among the top T20 batsmen in the world and scored 50+ in his last match. He is my best bet to score over 23.5 runs.

England have won 7 of their last 11 T20I matches.
England’s Jos Buttler has scored 52 & 83 runs in 2 of his last 3 T20I matches.
England’s Dawid Malan scored 68 runs in his last T20I match.
Sri Lanka’s Danushka Gunathilaka has scored 50+ in 1 of his last 3 T20I matches.
Sri Lanka have lost 9 of their last T20I matches.

Head to Head

England have won four of their last five T20I matches against Sri Lanka. Their last encounter took place in 2018 where England won by 30 runs.

England Form

England’s T20I form has been reasonably good with seven wins from their last 11 matches. They did however lose their last series 3-2 away to India.

After leading 2-1 at the end of the 3rd T20I, England lost the final two matches in Ahmedabad to concede the series. In the last match England bowled first and conceded 224 runs whilst only taking two wickets on a very good batting wicket.

England’s response was decent but they still fell 36 runs short on 188-8. Dawid Malan top scored with 68 runs while Jos Buttler contributed 52 off just 34 balls.

England Team News

Olly Stone has been ruled out for the season with a stress fracture which sees George Garton drafted in.

Opening batsman, Jonny Bairstow has reportedly recovered from an ankle injury but will likely miss the opening T20 as a precaution. A number of players top players are rested but Jos Buttler does return.

David Willey, Chris Woakes and Liam Dawson all come back into the fold for this series.

Sri Lanka Form

Sri Lanka are looking for some confidence after losing nine of their last 10 T20I matches. With it being a T20I World Cup year the visitors will hope to put up a decent fight against the hosts.

Their last two series’ have come against the West Indies with one being played at home and the other away. They lost on both occasions.

Sri Lanka’s last match took place in March 2021 in Coolidge. Batting first they could only score 131 runs on what was a difficult surface. Dinesh Chandimal recaptured some form by scoring 54 runs with Ashen Bandara contributing 44 lower down the order.

Lakshan Sandakan was the pick of the Sri Lanka bowlers with figures of 3-29. Unfortunately it was not enough as West Indies won by three wickets with an over to spare.

Sri Lanka Team News

There have been major contract disputes but the players have agreed to tour without contracts. Angelo Mathews has however been omitted from the squad.

Ashen Bandara has also missed out on selection but there is a return for the experienced Nuwan Pradeep and Avishka Fernando.

England vs Sri Lanka FAQs

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Verdict

England v Sri Lanka

Dawid Malan is backed to continue his fine form by scoring over 23.5 runs. Teammate Jos Buttler is tipped to top score for England and win the man of the match award.

Danushka Gunathilaka has been Sri Lanka's most consistent limited overs batsman in 2021. He can top score for them.