The highly-anticipated T20 World Cup 2022 will start on Sunday, October 16, with Sri Lanka taking on Namibia in the opening match at Simonds Stadium in Geelong.
The Islanders have arrived in Australia with their chin high after their recent spectacular performance in the Asia Cup 2022, where they beat Pakistan to clinch the title. Namibia, on the other hand, are still relatively new in the ICC events but are expected to carry confidence from their campaign in the previous edition of the multi-team tournament.
Pitch Report:
So far, the Simonds Stadium hosted only one T20I match back in 2017, and interestingly, Sri Lanka played that game against Australia and won by 2 wickets. The track at this venue offers decent support to batters, but bowlers will have some advantage in the initial phase of the contest. Chasing seems to be an ideal choice here.
Probable XIs:
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Maheesh Theekshana
Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Stephan Baard, Michael van Lingen, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, David Wiese, Zane Green (wk), JJ Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, Pikky Ya France.
Match Prediction:
Case 1:
- Sri Lanka wins the toss and bowls first
- Powerplay score: 35-40
- Namibia total: 140-150
Case 2:
- Namibia wins the toss and bowls first
- Powerplay score: 45-55
- Sri Lanka total: 160-170
Team batting second to win the contest.
