Sports
Sri Lanka will aim to get their first win of the tournament when they meet Pakistan at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi Stadium today
Injury-hit Sri Lanka will meet familiar foes Pakistan today (10) as they look to move past their opening match loss.
Pakistan will go into the match knowing they will need to improve their opening batting display despite a win against the Netherlands in their first match. Pakistan survived a scare against a determined Dutch side to win their first match on Friday and go into Tuesday’s match with two points and a healthy net run rate.
The South Asian nations will play their second match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in Hyderabad in southern India.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka were handed a 105-run loss by South Africa in New Delhi on Saturday.
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has admitted he knows Sri Lanka’s “strengths and weaknesses” inside out, having spent two years at the helm of his Asian rivals. “Yeah, I know their strengths and weaknesses, so we will have plans put in place for all of them,” Arthur told the Agence France-Presse new agency on Monday. “They are a dangerous side, so we will have to be at our best to beat them.”
Pakistan are likely to keep the same lineup for the match, handing a lifeline to out-of-form opener Fakhar Zaman, who scored just 12 against the Netherlands. “I am not worried about his form. He is a good player and is just one innings away from a big score,” Arthur said of the only Pakistan batsman to have made a double century in ODI cricket.
Sri Lanka will also be buoyed by their two wicket win against Pakistan last month, which propelled them to the Asia Cup final in Colombo.
Skipper Dasun Shanaka admitted his side has been hampered by the loss of three front-line bowlers but received a boost on Monday when off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana was cleared to play against Pakistan. “I think he should be available for this game,” Sri Lanka batting coach Naveed Nawaz told reporters.
Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga were ruled out of the tournament completely through injury. “It was tough to manage things without three key bowlers, but that is part of the game,” Shanaka said after the South Africa match.
Both teams know each other quite well, having played 156 ODIs against one another. Pakistan hold the upper hand in terms of wins with 92 to their name while Sri Lanka have 59, and one match ended in a tie.
Here’s how both teams are expected to line up:
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmad, Muhammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (wicket-keeper), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka
(Aljazeera)
Asif Nazrul, the Bangladesh government’s sports advisor, on Thursday said that the ICC and the BCCI made no effort to convince the the Bangladesh Cricket Board of the security for their players in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to be hosted in India and Sri Lanka. He also added that they did not deliver justice to their plea of shifting matches to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first in the opening ODI in Colombo, a venue that has historically been difficult for chasing teams. England captain Harry Brook said his team would have batted first as well.
England made one change to the XI they had named on the eve of the match, with allrounder Will Jacks having taken ill overnight. Jacks, an offspin-bowling allrounder, has been replaced in the XI by legspinning allrounder Rehan Ahmed.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have opted for a young attack, perhaps with a view to resting the more experienced bowlers for the T20Is coming up. There is no Wanindu Hasaranga or Maheesh Theekshana in the XI. Left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage and legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay will lead the spin attack instead, with the likes of Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka also able to bowl.
Asitha Fernando and Pramod Madushan are the frontline seamers.
Although conditions were warm and fair at the toss, there is a chance showers could roll through later.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (capt.), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Rehan Ahmed, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Pavan Ratnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando
[Cricinfo]
The official tour showcasing the ICC T20 World Cup trophy, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka in 2026, was formally inaugurated on Wednesday (21) at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The trophy will be displayed in several major cities across the island from Wednesday 21st until Saturday 24th, over a period of four days. Cricket fans will have the opportunity to see the golden trophy up close during the Sri Lanka vs England One-Day International match at the R. Premadasa International Stadium in Colombo.
Subsequently, plans are in place to take the trophy to the cities of Kandy, Dambulla and Jaffna, providing cricket enthusiasts in those regions as well with the opportunity to take commemorative photographs with the World Cup trophy and view it. The primary aim of this tour is to generate excitement and build spectator interest in the lead-up to hosting a World Cup tournament in the country.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held from 7th February to 8th March 2026 co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India. This World Cup is the largest tournament Sri Lanka will host since the T20 World Cup held in 2012.
The tournament schedule was revealed on 25th November 2025 in India, where the International Cricket Council (ICC) selected the R. Premadasa International Stadium in Colombo, the Pallekele International Stadium and the Colombo SSC Ground as the venues for matches in Sri Lanka.
Accordingly, 8 matches are scheduled at the R. Premadasa International Stadium, 5 matches at the Colombo SSC Ground and 7 matches at the Pallekele International Stadium.
Twenty countries are set to participate in this tournament. Twenty matches of the tournament are scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka, with all matches involving the Pakistan team to be played in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, a special feature is that if the Pakistan team qualifies for the semi-finals and the final, Sri Lanka will also host those two matches.
In that event, the final will be held at the R. Premadasa International Stadium in Colombo, increasing the number of matches scheduled for Sri Lanka to 22.
Apart from the host nations Sri Lanka and India, Test-playing nations England, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan will be represented in this tournament. Additionally, the United States of America, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Namibia, Nepal, Oman and the United Arab Emirates are the other contributing countries.
The T20 World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka at the beginning of 2026 can be considered an excellent opportunity to deliver effective value to the country’s economy, tourism industry, sports development, international promotion and society.
In particular, the arrival of teams, media groups and thousands of spectators, including foreign tourists, will generate significant foreign exchange earnings for the country. It is also expected to create short and long-term employment opportunities in various sectors including hotel and food & beverage businesses, transport services and technical and operational services.
By Sri Lanka hosting this tournament, long-term benefits such as increased opportunities for new investments as Sri Lanka is recognised worldwide as a tourist destination, the identification of Sri Lanka as a year-round sports tourism hub and the strengthening of Sri Lanka’s international profile leading to an enhancement of the country’s value, will be attained.
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sunil Gamage, Deputy Minister of Sports, Sugath Tilakaratne, Director General of Sports, S. Achchudan, Sri Lanka Cricket President, Shammi Silva along with the Executive Committee and a group including Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup team captain Dasun Shanaka and Head Coach, Sanath Jayasuriya were also present at the occasion.
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