World Cup 2023, Match 8 | Sri Lanka Predicted XI vs Pakistan

image-lnj6bvapSri Lanka will face Pakistan in the eighth match of the World Cup 2023 (Source: AP Photos)


The eighth match of the 2023 World Cup features Pakistan versus Sri Lanka in Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The game is scheduled to start at 2:00 PM IST on Tuesday and will be the second match of a doubleheader Tuesday.

The second meeting between the two teams takes place after a 26-day break. Last time, the stage was different. For Pakistan, winning was essential to make it to the Finals and their hopes were dashed when Charith Asalanka drove the Lankan Lions to victory in a nail-biter. Babar Azam's army would seek retaliation against the Dasun Shanaka-led battalion, despite the fact that the stakes in the current conflict are lower than they were in the last one.

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South Africa humiliated Sri Lanka in the opening game of the competition, compiling the highest total in World Cup history. Despite their best efforts, the island country failed to overcome the staggering total of 428 runs.

On the other side, Pakistan won by 81 runs against the Netherlands to kick off their World Cup campaign. Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel laid the foundation for a winning score, and in exchange, the bowlers worked effectively together to completely destroy the Dutch team.

Both sides have riveting history in the past across formats. Sri Lanka would be looking to bounce back from their defeat against South Africa and get some points under the name. So let us have a quick glance through the predicted XI of Sri Lanka against Pakistan.


Openers: Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Janith Perera

Sri Lankan top-order will be largely made up of youth and experience. Pathum Nissanka being the young blood has been a great find for the Asian side. He lived up to the expectations by becoming the most consistent batter for Sri Lanka in the last couple of years. Nissanka scored at a rate of 49 runs per innings during the World Cup warm-up matches.

His partner, Kusal Perera is one of the most renowned batters of Sri Lanka but hasn't looked at the best of his form in recent times. If he gets going, runs are going to come thick and fast within the powerplay.


Middle-Order: Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka

Kusal Mendis averages 117 in his last two ODI games. He's a gem of a cricketer and has been stockpiling runs for fun. Mendis scored two nervous nineties during the Asia Cup 2023 and then bludgeoned a 158 runs knock in the Warm-up games versus Afghanistan. His recent knock of 76 runs off 42 balls was an epitome of mini destruction against South Africa.

The core of the Sri Lankan middle-order also constitutes Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka who have the ability to soak up pressure and convert them into runs. The duo did such acts quite often in their recent matches during the Asian championship.


All-rounders: Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dunith Wellalage

Dasun Shanaka finally found his touch with the bat in hand during the game against South Africa in Delhi. The captain has also been quite active with the ball in hand and is a definite pick in the playing XI. Another sureshot pick in the Lankan XI would be Dhananjaya de Silva who is a great all-rounder. He can fetch wickets during the middle-over phases and can also add runs with the willow lower down the order.

Sri Lanka's batting depth has improved since the time Dunith Wellalage has made his name in the international stage. Although inconsistent with the bat, he can play the quickfire knocks during the slog overs. The young gun is also filling the void of Wanindu Hasaranga in the side with the ball in hand.


Bowlers: Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, and Matheesha Pathirana

Sri Lanka possesses an average pace bowling unit and that was verified in the game against South Africa where the Proteas batters dealt in boundaries and amassed the highest-ever total in World Cup history.

Kasun Rajitha and Dilshan Madushanka are likely to feature with the new ball. They offer the right and left-arm combination with the new ball. Joining them will be Matheesha Pathirana, who generally tends to bowl with the old ball. He's someone to watchout for in the tournament.

Sri Lanka Predicted XI vs Pakistan

Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, and Dilshan Madushanka.