Lucknow

After chalking out a historic win against in-form South Africa, the Netherlands will take the field once again to play their brand of 'total cricket' as espoused by captain Scott Edwards. Squaring up against 1996 World Cup winners Sri Lanka at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday (Oct 21), the outcome of the match could effectively decide the future of either of the two sides in the tournament. 

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While the Netherlands have bagged a win and are on the ascendency, Sri Lanka are yet to get off the mark, having drawn blank in last three matchups. The last match was a drag for the islanders as they downed the tools and surrendered rather tamely in front of an under-firing Australian squad. 

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If one regards the previous encounter as an aberration, the Sri Lankan team has managed to etch a 320+ total every time they have taken the field, which should be the silver outline that they should take into this contest. The bowlers, however, have been off the boil, partly due to the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmatha Chameera - the two linchpins of the Sri Lankan bowling lineup. 

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As for the Dutch side, their focus will be to replicate the minute planning which proved to be the foundation, upon which the win against Proteas was scripted. Edwards, a sharp mind on the field will look for the matchups and use them effectively to come out on top. 

Result prediction: 

With the margins blurred in a contest like this, the final outcome would lay on which team plays the crunch moments better. Going by the form, it looks like the Dutch have the upper hand as both batting and bowling have come good for them this tournament. 

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What the teams said: 

Dutch player Teja Nidamanuru, speaking on the eve of the contest, said it wouldn't be an upset if the Netherlands beat Sri Lanka.

"I don't know if I'd call it an upset if I'm really honest with you. We've competed against Sri Lanka multiple times in the qualifiers, and obviously, we fell short in our batting side, and we've worked extremely hard on that, whether that's camps in Alor and Bangalore, previous to the tournament or back in the Netherlands. So, we're here to play well and win," said Nidamanuru. 

Predicted Playing XIs:

Netherland: Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (c & wk), Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (c), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara/Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka

(With inputs from agencies)

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