England vs Sri Lanka Prediction: Who will win today's T20 World Cup 2021 match?
Even as Halloween took centrestage over the weekend, the most frightening sight for non-supporters of England was the team's trademark white-ball dominance returning in emphatic fashion. Eoin Morgan's men obliterated Australia in their Group 1 2021 T20 World Cup fixture two days ago, establishing themselves as the team to beat in the tournament despite being without Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer.
Riding on Jos Buttler's pyrotechnics at the top of the order, England cruised home with 50 balls to spare to seal top spot in their group. Their next assignment comes in the form of Sri Lanka, who have won one of their three T20 World Cup 2021 games so far to be placed fourth in the group on net run rate.
Sri Lanka vanquished Bangladesh before falling to Australia and South Africa, and already have one foot out the T20 World Cup door. A loss would drill the final nail in their coffin and they will have their hands full against a team that has already brushed aside West Indies, Bangladesh and Australia.
T20 World Cup 2021: Sri Lanka look to restore morale against formidable England
With only five balls left in their T20 World Cup encounter against South Africa, Sri Lanka were in control. But Lahiru Kumara dished out two slot balls that David Miller duly pumped over the leg-side boundary, leaving Sri Lanka with a mountain to climb during the remainder of the Super 12 stage.
Maheesh Theekshana's mystery has waned a touch recently, and even Dushmantha Chameera and Kumara have been expensive at times. Wanindu Hasaranga has almost single-handedly carried the team, with several batters failing to deliver.
Youngsters Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka, and to some extent Bhanuka Rajapaksa, have been bright spots in an otherwise stale batting lineup. Experienced heads like Kusal Perera and captain Dasun Shanaka have failed to deliver, putting Sri Lanka under immense pressure in the powerplay and at the death respectively.
England, on the other hand, have a completely settled playing XI. Chris Woakes has been nothing short of exemplary since returning to the T20I side, and he has had excellent support from Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills. With Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone chipping in with wickets to shore up the spin department, England have all bases covered when it comes to bowling.
Not much needs to be said about England's white-ball batting, which simply goes from strength to strength every series. Although the middle order hasn't been seriously tested yet, Eoin Morgan and his men will back themselves to score more runs than Sri Lanka 10 times out of 10.
While Sri Lanka may stand a fighting chance if someone like Hasaranga runs through England's batting lineup, the 2019 World Cup champions are the definite favorites. England can be backed to make it four wins from four on Monday.
Click here for the T20 World Cup 2021 result.
Prediction: England to win Match 29 of the T20 World Cup