England vs Sri Lanka, 1st Semi Final T20 Match, Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
England vs Sri Lanka, 1st Semi Final T20 Match, Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia On May 13, 2010 from 15:30 GMT | 21:00 IST Onwards
Kevin Pietersen will be hellbent to ensure that the first game his newborn son witnesses has the KP trademark stamped on it. The out lander has single-handedly taken England to the semi-finals and after missing the last game, he will be back to take the juggernaut further in the ICC World T20 Championships. Pietersen will be up against a buoyant Sri Lankan outfit, who blighted India ruthlessly in their previous game.
Kumar Sangakkara’s men have been one of the most impressive sides in the tournament and barring their match against Australia, have played the perfect game. Their batting has been outstanding with the classy Mahela Jayawardene leading the pack. Jayawardene’s sublime form coupled with players like Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews and Chamara Kapugedera makes them a formidable batting unit.
The slow St Lucia pitch will suit Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers. Though Muttiah Muralitharan will be missed, young Suraj Randiv has risen in the ranks and is making giant strides. Randiv troubled the Aussies and will be one of the key players England have to watch out for on Thursday. He will also be crucial in Keeping the in-form Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright in check during the middle overs.
To tackle Sri Lanka’s batting, England will turn to tweakers Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy, who have been terrific so far. But against strong players of spin like Jayawardene, Sangakkara and Dilshan, this will be the duo’s toughest test.
England’s most experienced bowler Ryan Sidebottom will have the responsibility of taking care of Jayawardene and Co. early in the innings. On the other hand, Sri Lanka would look to take early control by picking on Sidebottom.
Another lip-smacking contest will be between Pietersen and Lasith Malinga. Pietersen annihilated Dale Steyn and he will target Malinga as well to break the back of the Lankan bowling. The Lankan spearhead will look to send the champion batsman as soon as possible, in view of the destruction he caused against South Africa in a short span of time. Sangakkara has to be careful in rotating bowlers with Pietersen in the middle as apart from Malinga, they lack experience and Pietersen can make them bleed.
England vs Sri Lanka T20 1st Semi Final Live Streaming
ICC T20 World Cup 1st Semi Final Live Streaming
England squad
PD Collingwood*, JM Anderson, RS Bopara, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, C Kieswetter†, MJ Lumb, EJG Morgan, KP Pietersen, A Shahzad, RJ Sidebottom, GP Swann, JC Tredwell, LJ Wright, MH Yardy
Sri Lanka squad
KC Sangakkara*†, LD Chandimal, TM Dilshan, CU Jayasinghe, ST Jayasuriya, DPMD Jayawardene, S Randiv, CK Kapugedera, KMDN Kulasekara, SL Malinga, AD Mathews, BAW Mendis, NLTC Perera, T Thushara, UWMBCA Welegedara
Thursday, May 13, 2010
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