NED vs SL Match Prediction: Who will win today's T20 World Cup 2022 match?
Group A of the first round of the 2022 T20 World Cup will only be decided when Namibia take on the UAE, but the Netherlands vs Sri Lanka clash on Thursday, October 20 will decide one Super 12 participant. The winner of the contest, to be played in Geelong, will progress to the next phase of the competition.
The Netherlands have won both their games so far, and a win would ensure an undefeated record in the first round. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, suffered a surprise loss to Namibia that has left them with only two points on the board right now. However, they have a better net run rate than the Dutch and should leapfrog their opponents in the points table with a win.
Sri Lanka suffered a major setback towards the end of their thumping win over the UAE. Star pacer Dushmantha Chameera, who only recently recovered from a calf injury, suffered another setback and has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup. So has Danushka Gunathilaka, whose replacement in the playing XI, Charith Asalanka, has been in a dreadful run of form.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, are coming together as a unit. They nearly stumbled to an embarrassing defeat against Namibia after having the game firmly in their grasp but managed to cling on to a narrow win. The Dutch have chased and won twice in a row, but they'll have their task cut out for them against a positive Sri Lankan side.
Netherlands vs Sri Lanka Match Prediction T20 World Cup 2022
Sri Lanka's top three overcame a poor outing against Namibia by piling on some runs against the UAE. Pathum Nissanka held the innings together with a patient knock, with Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva chipping in as well. But the middle order fell apart for the second game running as Karthik Meiyappan grabbed a hat-trick.
While Asalanka hasn't been able to buy a run over the last few months, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka are yet to hit their stride in the T20 World Cup. Sri Lanka will take heart from the fact that while the Netherlands have three spin options and a host of pacers, they don't have any out-and-out wicket-takers in their bowling lineup.
Bas de Leede is the Netherlands' most important player, and Sri Lanka will look to take advantage of his slow starts with the bat. Vikramjit Singh played his shots in the previous game and Max O'Dowd has contributed in both games of the T20 World Cup thus far, but Maheesh Theekshana and Pramod Madushan will have a thing or two to say about that on Thursday.
The Netherlands are the only undefeated team in the first round of the T20 World Cup thus far, but that should come to an end against Sri Lanka. Although Chameera's absence will dent the Asia Cup champions, they should be able to perform under pressure and put themselves in prime position to seal a Super 12 spot.
Prediction: Sri Lanka to win Match 9 of the 2022 T20 World Cup