Sri Lanka elects to bat against Pakistan; England targets big total against Bangladesh at World Cup – WTOP News

DHARAMSALA, India (AP) — Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat against Pakistan on Tuesday in the second game for both teams at the Cricket World Cup.

The teams are coming off contrasting results in their opening games: Pakistan thumped Netherlands by 81 runs at the same venue in Hyderabad, while Sri Lanka had a 102-run loss to South Africa. The South Africans posted a World Cup record total of 428-5 at Delhi.

Sri Lanka, which has never won a World Cup game against Pakistan in seven attempts, strengthened its spin department as a result, recalling Maheesh Theekshanagot at the expense of fast bowler Kasun Rajitha.

Despite losing heavily to South Africa, Sri Lanka batters showed plenty of spark before getting bowled out for 326. Kusal Mendis, who smashed eight sixes in his blistering knock of 76 off 42 balls, Charith Asalanka and Shanaka all scored half centuries before falling against South Africa pace.

Pakistan benched its out-of-form opener Fakhar Zaman, who has been struggling for runs since the Asia Cup, and brought in Abdullah Shafique in the only change from the lineup which won the first game.

Earlier in a day game at Dharamsala, England was setting up for a big total against Bangladesh on the back of an aggressive century from Dawid Malan. The defending champions raced to 304-3 in 41 overs after being asked to bat first.

England opened the tournament with a heavy nine-wicket loss to New Zealand at Ahmedabad, giving the Black Caps a measure of revenge for the narrow result in the 2019 final.

Bangladesh is coming off a six-wicket opening win over Afghanistan.

England has won 19 of the 24 previous one-day internationals against Bangladesh, although the ledger in World Cups is even at 2-2 since 2007. England lost to Bangladesh in both the 2011 and 2015 editions, with the latter defeat knocking it out in the league stage.

Bangladesh made one change to its XI, with batting allrounder Mahedi Hasan picked in place of Mahmudullah in a like-for-like replacement.

England also made one change, with left-arm pace bowler Reece Topley replacing spinning allrounder Moeen Ali. It is a change perhaps keeping in mind the change in conditions, especially the higher altitude ground at Dharamsala.

Ben Stokes was sidelined for a second consecutive game because of a hip problem.

The pitch for this game is a fresh one, and not the one used for the Bangladesh-Afghanistan game. Yet, it is expected to support spin as the game goes on.

There was plentiful rain late Monday in Dharamsala, so the fast bowlers should get early assistance.

The patchy outfield at HPCA Stadium has been under the spotlight in the build-up to this game, particularly rough areas which pose a challenge to fielders.

England skipper Jos Buttler described the outfield conditions as ‘poor’, while the International Cricket Council deemed it ‘average’ in its report from the previous game.

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Line-ups:

Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi

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AP cricket:

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