England have won the toss and elected to bat first against Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru today (October 26), with both teams making several changes.
Jos Buttler won the toss and was selected to play against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. England had faced a lot of criticism in Mumbai for entering the match after winning the toss on a flat surface. It appears they corrected that mistake here and fought in what was supposed to be another high-scoring venue.
England have made three changes since the defeat against South Africa. One of them was forced and Reece Topley was excluded from the World Cup. The other two players missing this game are Gus Atkinson and Harry Brook. England replaced them with Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes, expanding their batting order and strengthening their spin department.
Sri Lanka has also made some changes. After Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad was excluded from the tournament,Angelo Matthews, who was selected to replace Matisha Pathirana, quickly moved into the starting XI in place of Chamika Karunaratne. They also brought in fast bowler Rahil Kumara in place of leg-spinner Dushyant Hemanta.
While pitching, Buttler asserted that England have great quality both individually and collectively, but they have not been able to reach their potential so far and he wants to change that.
Meanwhile, Kusal Mendis said the arrival of Matthews, one of the world’s most experienced active international cricketers, will give the Sri Lankan team a boost.
Both England and Sri Lanka have won just one of their last four matches and will be desperate for a second win in Bengaluru today.
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