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England take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three series with Sri Lanka by recording a five-wicket victory in the first Test at Old Trafford.

England have chased down a target of 205 to record a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Old Trafford.

Even in the absence of the injured Ben Stokes, England had been expected to make light work of a Sri Lanka side that does not possess the same star power as years gone by.

However, Kamindu Mendis‘s outstanding 113 left the hosts with plenty to think about on the fourth day, before Joe Root showcased his class to get England over the line with a day to spare.

Resuming on 204-6 with a lead of 82, Sri Lanka were aware of the size of the task in front of them if they were to remain competitive, yet Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal frustrated England during the morning session.

The pair survived the 135-minute session and took Sri Lanka past 300, only for Mendis to fall soon after lunch for 113 off the bowling of Gus Atkinson.

Mendis and Chandimal’s resilience was undone as the rest of the innings was wrapped up in just over four overs, Chandimal the last man to be dismissed for 79.

Matthew Potts came away with figures of 3-47 after a frustrating summer playing a waiting game, and it set England up with a target that they could chase down without the need of a fifth day.

“They’ve been donated a wicket right there” 😅

Ollie Pope is dismissed in bizarre fashion as Sri Lanka pick up their second wicket 👀 pic.twitter.com/SQQwlCFjYA

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 24, 2024

England survive nervy start

With Ben Duckett (11) and Ollie Pope (six) out by the 12.5-over mark, England found themselves in a game, and Dan Lawrence‘s dismissal for 34 left his team on 70-3.

By this point, Root was at the crease, yet he remained disciplined as Harry Brook put together 32 from 68 in a 49-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Jamie Smith, after his century in the first innings, added 39 from 48 to put England to within touching distance, allowing Root to go at a pedestrian pace and make an unbeaten 62 from 128 balls that featured just two boundaries.

Stand-in skipper Pope was quick to laud Root as “a greedy Yorkshireman” after the game as he continued to chase down sixth spot in the all-time Test run scorers that is currently held by Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara, who is 269 runs ahead.

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Sports Mole previews the 2024 T20 World Cup match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, scheduled to be played at Grand Prairie Stadium on Saturday.

Match 15 in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup will come from group D, with Sri Lanka taking on Bangladesh at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas on Saturday morning.

The Sri Lankans will enter this match looking to bounce back from an opening-round defeat to South Africa while the visitors are making their first appearance in this year’s tournament.

Match preview

© Reuters

Since winning the T20 World Cup back in 2014, Sri Lanka have fallen off the radar in recent years and look likely to face a challenging task to emerge from this group, which also features the Netherlands, Nepal and South Africa.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first in their opening match, the Lions were taken apart by the Proteas, as they managed just 77 runs before being bowled out in 19.2 overs, with none of their batsmen posting a score of more than 20 runs.

A major problem that the Sri Lankans have faced in recent years has been their lack of batting depth and that was clearly evident again in their opening match with Wanindu Hasaranga, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka contributing just six runs as a collective in the middle-order.

However, while their struggles with the bat are evident, the Lions would have taken some positives from their bowling performance, which, despite having only 77 runs to defend, managed to take the game to 17th over and knocked over four wickets in the process.

Although they lost their opening match, Sri Lanka will enter this contest with confidence, having won four of their last five matches against this opponent, including a series win in Bangladesh earlier this year.

© Reuters

Meanwhile, Bangladesh have arguably had the best warm-up campaign of any side at the T20 World Cup this year, having arrived in the US early and played a series against the hosts to better prepare and adapt to the conditions.

Unfortunately, their performances during their prep games have been far from impressive, as they lost the series against the US 2-1, with their sole victory coming in a match that saw the co-hosts of this tournament rest several of their first-team players.

Thereafter, the Tigers were easily outdone by India in their final warm-up match, and now enter the main competition having won only one of their last four T20 games, including a nine-run defeat to Zimbabwe at the start of last month.

While Tanzid Tamim has been a breath of fresh air, scoring three half-centuries in his first seven games, a recurring issue the side has experienced in recent times has been their top-order’s inability to lay a platform for them to build on, with the likes of Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, and Nazmul Hossain Shantoof misfiring miserably this year.

Nonetheless, Bangladesh are never a side to underestimate and have more than enough class and experience in their ranks, such as Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan, who will need to step up and provide Najmul Hossain Shanto some much-needed support as he undertakes his first ICC tournament as the new captain.

Team News

© Reuters

Kusal Mendis stamped his authority on last year’s 50-over World Cup in India and will be hoping to do the same in the Caribbean. The right-handed batter has scored nearly 1,200 runs in this World Cup cycle, nearly 500 more than the next Sri Lankan.

Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka will bring huge experience as seam-bowling all-rounders, while captain Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage should provide the spin-bowling alternatives.

For Bangladesh, vice-captain Taskin Ahmed has been flagged as an injury doubt in the lead-up to this weekend’s fixture, and his fitness is expected to be assessed prior to the final team announcement.

Right-hander Towhid Hridoy has been tipped to have a good competition, coming off the back of two 400+ run seasons in the typically low-scoring Bangladesh Premier League, where he was striking at over 150 against pace bowling.

Sri Lanka squad: Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka.

Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Kumer Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Series so far

Sri Lanka

Match One: Sri lanka lost by 6 wickets
Sri Lanka – 77 (19.1)
South Africa – 80/4 (16.2)

Bangladesh

Bangladesh are playing their first match of the competition.

© PA Photos

We say: Sri Lanka to win

While Sri Lanka’s opening match against the Proteas was well below expectations, the experience would have been invaluable and they will have a much better understanding of how to navigate the pitches and conditions here, which have proven difficult for even the best teams in the competition.

With two well-matched sides going head to head here, it would not surprise us if this match went down to the wire, but we are backing the Lions to come out on top and register their first points of the tournament.

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