CWC 2023: Sri Lanka look to end losing streak against spirited Dutch

The Netherlands, who stunned South Africa in Dharamsala for their first World Cup win against a Test playing nation, will be eying an improved show from their top-order as they look for back-to-back victories

Lucknow: Having a caused a major upset, the Netherlands will have a spring in their stride when they take on a struggling Sri Lanka in the World Cup here on Saturday.

The Netherlands, who stunned South Africa in Dharamsala for their first World Cup win against a Test playing nation, will be eying an improved show from their top-order as they look for back-to-back victories.

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The top three Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd and Colin Ackermann have not been able to get the team off to a good start, putting additional pressure on the middle-order. A morale-boosting win over South Africa will provide an extra dose of confidence to the trio ahead of the Sri Lanka clash.

Star all-rounder Bas de Leede is doing his bit with the ball but can step on the batting front. The performance against the Proteas showed that the Netherlands mean business, having set an ambitious target of reaching the semifinals in their first World Cup appearance in 12 years.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have plenty to worry about on the bowling front. They have not been able to a produce a collective performance thus far. The Lions have been decent with their batting, having posted 300-plus total in their opening two contests.

However, it is Sri Lanka’s bowling that have let them down in the absence of a few injured players. They would rely on pacer Dilshan Madushanka, who has been their leading wicket-taker in the event so far with seven scalps. He got the ball to swing against Australia at the same venue and would be looking to do the same against the struggling Dutch top-order.

The Lucknow wicket has so far seen the team batting first having the advantage, as the ball has been moving under the lights. Therefore, if chasing, the Netherlands must be careful against the seam barrage of Madushanka, especially Vikramjit, who has a poor record against the left-arm pacers since last year.

The Dutch will also expect a lot from Roelof van der Merwe, whose orthodox spin bowling can come in handy on this wicket. As for their head to head encounters so far, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands have met on five occasions, with the former winning on all instances.

Sri Lanka had beaten them twice in the World Cup qualifier earlier this year including the final after both teams secured their spots for the ongoing World Cup in India.