England vs Sri Lanka 2nd T20I, June 23, 2021, Sri Lanka Tour of England Match Prediction

Match Predictions

There is no time in between the first two T20Is as it is scheduled on back to back days. Sophia Gardens in Cardiff will be the venue for both the encounters as Sri Lanka face England to kickstart the international white-ball summer in England.

England may have lost their last ODI and T20I series in India. However, England have been in solid form in white-ball cricket for a while now and their T20I form has been pretty good as well. Before the T20I series defeat in India (2-3) earlier this year, England were unbeaten in bilateral T20I series for almost three years – eight successive bilateral rubbers. They were excellent at home and away.

Ben Stokes who is rehabilitating from his finger injury and Jofra Archer who underwent an elbow surgery recently have not been considered for selection. Meanwhile, most of England’s first-choice white-ball players are fit and raring to go. Chris Woakes and David Willey have made a comeback into the T20I side a period of five and two years respectively. England’s batting line-up is almost at full-strength.

There was a lot of uncertainty around whether Sri Lanka would fly to the United Kingdom (UK) due to the ongoing pay dispute with the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board. However, on the eve of their departure, the side was named and it was devoid of most of the experienced names. Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne continue to be ignored while Nuwan Pradeep returns to the side. Most players who were on the trip to Bangladesh for the ODI series have been picked and Ashen Bandara is the only player missing from that squad.

Sri Lanka’s form and record in T20I cricket has been abysmal to say the least in the recent past. They have just one T20I win out of their last 11 encounters. In fact, they have just one bilateral T20I series win since the start of October 2018 and that came against Pakistan in Pakistan in October 2019. They have lost four series’ each on either side of that remarkable series victory on Pakistan soil.

Thus, England will start as overwhelming favourites into this game and the series overall.

Summary

The head to head record between England and Sri Lanka is almost neck and neck in T20I cricket. England have won five games while Sir Lanka have won four. Three of Sri Lanka’s wins have come in England and England have won just one T20I against Sri Lanka at home. However, in neutral venues, England have won all three games. Moreover, since the start of 2016, England and Sri Lanka have played three T20Is and England have won all of them.