Hosts Sri Lanka entertain England in the last of the quarter-finals at the 2011 Cricket World Cup on Friday in Colombo, with a semi-final spot against New Zealand up for grabs.
Sri Lanka go into the match as favourites but England have caused some upsets this tournament beating South Africa and tying with India.
But the English have been inconsistent with losses to Bangladesh and Ireland, so who knows which team will turn up against a Sri Lanka team boasting in-form batsman Kumar Sangakkara.
*Sri Lanka’ Group performance2nd in Group A, 4 wins, 1 loss, 1 no result*Results’
Sri Lanka 332/7, Canada 122, Sri Lanka won by 210 runs Pakistan 277/7, Sri Lanka 266/9, Pakistan won by 11 runs Kenya 142, Sri Lanka 146/1, Sri Lanka won by 9 wickets Sri Lanka 146/3, Australia DNB, match abandoned, no result Sri Lanka 327/6, Zimbabwe 188, Sri Lanka won by 139 runs Sri Lanka 265/9, New Zealand 153, Sri Lanka won by 112 runs
Statistics Most runs; Kumar Sangakkara (363), Tillakaratne Dilshan (286), Upul Tharanga (261) Best batting average; Kumar Sangakkara (121), Upul Tharanga (52.2), Tillakaratne Dilshan (47.66) Most wickets; Muttiah Muralitharan (11), Lasith Malinga (7), Thisara Perera (6)
The Captain On spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s fitness, Kumar Sangakkara said: “Murali is fine to play and 100 percent okay, which is great for us.”
Sangakkara added: “It’s a do-or-die for all the teams playing in the quarterfinals. Our guys are really focused and very well tuned into what’s happening. They’ll look to do everything they can to win.”
On Sri Lanka’s brittle middle-order, he added: “I think the middle order is good. They are the best players we have in Sri Lanka and some of them are equal to the best players in the world. It’s hard to judge the middle order when they get only 10-15 overs in games. In the Sri Lankan side everyone is confident and everyone trusts each other.”
*England’ Group performance3rd in Group B, 3 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie*Results’
Netherlands 292/6, England 296/4, England won by 6 wickets India 338, England 338/8, match tied England 327/8, Ireland 329/7, Ireland won by 3 wickets England 171, South Africa 165, England won by 6 runs England 225, Bangladesh 227/8, Bangladesh won by 2 wickets England 243, West Indies 225, England won by 18 runs
Statistics Most runs; Jonathon Trott (336), Andrew Strauss (329), Ian Bell (220) Best batting average; Jonathon Trott (56), Andrew Strauss (54.83), Ian Bell (36.66) Most wickets; Graeme Swann (12), Tim Bresnan (9), Stuart Broad (6)
The Captain On England’s up-and-down World Cup campaign, Andrew Strauss said: “We have shown a lot of resolve. We have shown that we are able to stick together in close encounters, but you never know what this game is going to throw at you, and you have to be quick enough to adapt to whatever comes your way. Now is the time to play good, smart, intelligent cricket and ask questions of the opposition.”
Strauss added: “We take a lot of confidence from the fact that we have beaten the major sides and that holds us in good stead for this game. We don’t know what drama is about to unfold. The likelihood is, as we saw the India-Australia game yesterday, it’s going to be a tight game, and it’s going to fluctuate on a couple of key performances. We have got to make sure that we are the guys who put up those performances.”
Sports Pundit prediction; Sri Lanka to win in a tight game