2023 World Cup Fantasy League: Best Fantasy XI for Match 14 - AUS vs SL - 16th Oct, 2023 | World Cup Fantasy Tips
Australia and Sri Lanka go up against each other in the 14th match of the 2023 Men's ODI World Cup on Monday, October 16, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Players playing in Match 13: Joe Root (BAT) (ENG), Jonny Bairstow (WK) (ENG), ReeceTopley (BOWL) (ENG), and Mark Wood (BOWL) (ENG)
Captain: Jonny Bairstow | Vice-captain: Mark Wood
Total Points: 5,801
The last match was completely out of the script in every sense. While the wicket was a belter, it also offered plenty for the spinners, something that sounds absurd when you think of how the wicket played in the first two matches.
As for England's batting effort, that was something nobody expected. While Bairstow's dismissal was a bit of bad luck, credit where it's due to Afghanistan for causing such a big upset and condemning me to another matchday with not such a good score.
As for Monday's match between Australia and Sri Lanka, I already have two players and will add three more.
Transfer Deadline: 02:00 pm IST, Monday, October 16
Note: The suggested team is subject to change depending on the toss or other unexpected team news. Any such changes will be updated for the next match day.
Transfers
Transfers Made: 3 | Transfers Remaining: 100
1) Jonny Bairstow (WK) (ENG) - OUT | Steven Smith (BAT) (AUS) - IN
2) ReeceTopley (BOWL) (ENG) - OUT | Kusal Mendis (WK) (SL) - IN
3) Mark Wood (BOWL) (ENG) - OUT | Glenn Maxwell (ALL) (AUS) - IN
The wicket at Lucknow played much better than it did during the Indian Premier League, with South Africa effortlessly posting a 300+ total against Australia. While the ball came on nicely to the bat in the second innings as well, it also aided the pacers under lights, and whichever captain wins the toss today would definitely want to bat first.
I don't think Australia will take these back-to-back defeats lightly and expect them to hit back fiercely in upcoming games. Sri Lanka won't make things easy for them, but their bowling stocks appear short, especially for a venue like this, and I feel this should be a routine win for the Aussies.
With Starc and Warner already on the team, I'm adding Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith. Maxwell has a stellar record against Sri Lanka with the bat, and he's also become one of their front-line bowlers at this World Cup.
Maxwell's off-spin has been really hard to put away, and that's no fluke. He's worked very hard to develop his bowling, and he's hitting the right line and length very consistently and should continue picking up wickets.
As for Smith, it's hard to keep a run accumulator like him quite for long, and especially now that the going has gotten tough, you'd expect someone like Smith to step up and deliver for his side.
As for Sri Lanka, one can't look beyond Kusal Mendis, who's been in tremendous form right from the Asia Cup. The WK-batter will be crucial to their chances in this match, and I'm hoping the law of averages doesn't catch up to him.
2023 World Cup Fantasy - Best Fantasy XI for Match 13 - AUS vs SL: Thoughts and Captaincy Tips
Players playing in Match 14: David Warner (BAT) (AUS), Mitchell Starc (BOWL) (AUS), Glenn Maxwell (ALL) (AUS), Kusal Mendis (WK) (SL), and Steven Smith (BAT) (AUS)
As hard as it may be to believe, Mitchell Starc is easily the best and most reliable captaincy pick for this match. He's a bowler who averages close to two wickets per match, and when he's given ten overs to work with, two or three wickets (65-100 points) are almost guaranteed.
This is not to say he's surely getting the armband, but he is most likely to. All the other players are viable captaincy picks too, and the toss will have the final say.
Other players
Joe Root (BAT) (ENG) | Next Fixture: vs SA, Match 20
Devon Conway (WK) (NZ) | Next Fixture: vs AFG, Match 16
Trent Boult (BOWL) (NZ) | Next Fixture: vs AFG, Match 16
Virat Kohli (BAT) (IND) | Next Fixture: vs BAN, Match 17
Jasprit Bumrah (BOWL) (IND) | Next Fixture: vs BAN, Match 17
Rachin Ravindra (ALL) (NZ) | Next Fixture: vs AFG, Match 16