Sri Lanka takes on Namibia in match 1 of the ICC T20 World Cup qualifier on Sunday, October 16, in Geelong.
Current form
Sri Lanka played a warm-up against Zimbabwe and scored a victory by 33 runs.
Kusal Mendis was the batting star as he scored 54 runs off just 29 balls.
Chamika Karunaratne and Maheesh Theekshana sparkled with the ball, picking two wickets each.
They were scheduled to play another warm-up against Ireland but it was called off due to rain.
Namibia also performed with distinction in their warm-up match against Ireland.
They managed to win by 11 runs by defending a score of 138 runs in 20 overs.
Ben Shikondo was instrumental in this victory by picking a three-wicket haul.
Their second match against Zimbabwe was anulled without a ball being bowled due to rain.
The qualifiers
A total of 8 teams will be participating in the qualifiers.
Sri Lanka, Namibia, UAE, the Netherlands, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Scotland, and Ireland are the 8 teams.
Recent form
Namibia and Sri Lanka were placed in the same group in the last T20 World Cup.
However, Sri Lanka totally outclassed Gerhard Erasmus and his men.
Namibia were bowled out for 96 and the Lankans chased the target down losing just three wickets and with more than six overs to spare.
Despite this, Namibia bounced back as they won against Ireland and Netherlands and qualified for the Super 12 where beat Scotland.
The Namibian team are no pushovers and they will fancy their chances of pulling off an upset against the Lankans.
Sri Lanka head into the qualifiers after winning the Asia Cup title recently where they defeated Pakistan in the final.
They also downed India who was seen as the favourites to win the title.
The Asia Cup that featured five consecutive victories was a stunning turnaround as Sri Lanka had lost nine out of their first 10 T20Is this year.
In fact, the Lankans are riding high and sparkled in the warm-up match against Zimbabwe.
Dasun Shanaka’s side won the match by 33 runs with Kusal Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga in terrific form.
Head to Head record
Matches Played – 1
SL Won – 1
NAM Won – 0
Venue Stats
Total matches 1
Matches won bowling first – 1
Highest total recorded 176/8 (20 Ov) by SL vs AUS
Lowest total recorded 173/10 (20 Ov) by AUS vs SL
Highest score chased 176/8 (20 Ov) by SL vs AUS
Expected Playing 11
Sri Lanka:
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (wk), Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka
Namibia:
Divan la Cock, Michael van Lingen, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (c), Jan Frylinck, JJ Smit, David Wiese, Ruben Trumpelmann, Zane Green (wk), Bernard Scholtz, Tangeni Lungameni
Who will win
Sri Lanka is the clear favourite to win this contest.
By doing so, they will take a step towards qualifying for the T20 World Cup Super 12 stage.
