LUCKNOW: It will be a battle for survival for a winless Sri Lanka when it plays against the Netherlands, who are on a high after stunning South Africa in Dharamsala.
It will be a litmus test for struggling Sri Lanka as their main players Kusal Perera and bowler Matheesha Pathirana are doubtful starters. Sri Lanka will need to focus on middle-order batting which includes stand-in skipper Kusal Mendis.
In the previous game against Australia, only the Sri Lanka openers could score runs. Pathum Nissanka posted 61 off 67 balls while wicketkeeper batter Kusal Perera scored 78 runs off 82 balls. However, after this the batting order collapsed like a pack of cards. Luckily for Sri Lanka, the pitch has been providing equal opportunities to bowlers (both pacers and spinners) as well as batters.
In the previous match, Australian bowler Adam Zampa claimed four wickets while pacers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc took two wickets each.
In what has come a huge relief to the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA), the pitch at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, which had behaved poorly during a T20I match between India and New Zealand in January this year, has received "very good" rating by the ICC for the Australia versus South Africa match which was played on October 12.
When Sri Lanka and the Netherlands played against each other for the last time in July in the finals of the World Cup qualifier, the former won the match by 128 runs.
As for their head-to-head encounters so far, the two teams have met on five occasions, with the former winning on all instances. Like Sri Lanka, the World Cup campaign of the Netherlands did not take off well they were defeated by Pakistan and New Zealand. However, the massive victory of the Netherlands against South Africa came as a huge morale-booster.
Dutch all-rounder Anil Teja Nidamanuru said that the team was buoyed after registering victory over South Africa. "We are very happy after our win. I think we've been playing some good cricket, but we haven't been playing it for long enough."
"We have competed against Sri Lanka multiple times in the qualifiers, and obviously we fell short in our batting side. We've worked extremely hard on that. So, we're here to play well and win." The Dutch will also expect a lot from Roel of van der Merwe, whose spin bowling can give them an upper hand.
