- Blues dead to England, Sri Lanka prepare for final England are at their lowest ebb with three straight defeats after traumatic setbacks in their last two games. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are all smiling after dismissing Pat Cummins. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023 Instead, Thursday’s game against Sri Lanka will bring back unpleasant memories of the 2023 edition where they ended the tournament with a string of deadbeats after an early exit.
- This is what hpens when you’re on the wrong side of a loseable game – not once, but twice in three days.
- No team in ODI history has ever failed to win in the situations England found themselves in last week: they beat Sri Lanka 24 for 2 for 430 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan beat 154 for 9 for 242 in Lahore.
Blues dead to England, Sri Lanka prepare for final England are at their lowest ebb with three straight defeats after traumatic setbacks in their last two games. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are all smiling after dismissing Pat Cummins. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023 Instead, Thursday’s game against Sri Lanka will bring back unpleasant memories of the 2023 edition where they ended the tournament with a string of deadbeats after an early exit.
This is what hpens when you’re on the wrong side of a loseable game – not once, but twice in three days. No team in ODI history has ever failed to win in the situations England found themselves in last week: they beat Sri Lanka 24 for 2 for 430 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan beat 154 for 9 for 242 in Lahore. Nevertheless, they are at the bottom of the rankings with three out of three defeats.
Those results gave Harry Brook and his teammates hope that Pakistan could do them a favor by beating Sri Lanka on Tuesday, setting up a direct shootout for the final spot in Saturday’s final. However, with nothing to play for, the tournament hosts were denied by the left arm of Dilshan Madushanka to make it 110-0 and Sri Lanka qualified after an easy comeback with a game to spare. The dominant eight-wicket win should give Sri Lanka confidence that they are on the right track ahead of next year’s World Cup in southern Africa, especially with injured Pathum Nissanka and Wanindu Hasaranga yet to return.
They are not a perfect team and strong opponents will take advantage of the lack of a fifth frontline bowler, but they have clearly increased in confidence over the last two weeks. It would be easy to dismiss their two recent defeats as freak events, but they have developed an undesirable habit of losing close games under Brendon McCullum, which dates back to his previous role as Test coach. After three consecutive series wins earlier in the year, they peared to have finally made progress in 50-over cricket, but have now won as many ODIs as they have lost in 2026 (six each).
There are some remedies: they will be without Jofra Archer (rested), Jacob Bethell (knee) and Jos Buttler (hamstring) for this series and have played much better for long stretches than their results in Pakistan would suggest. But they could do with a consolation win to boost morale ahead of the three-game series in Australia next month and re-examine their progress. Sri Lanka: WWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first) England: LLLWL Kusal Mendis plays a shot as Haris Rauf falls, Pakistan v Sri Lanka, ODI Tri-Series, Lahore, October 27, 2026. Kusal Mendis’ last two dismissals have been nothing short of bizarre.
Against England he was fingertiped out by Gus Atkinson before he faced a ball; against Pakistan he was bowled after hitting the ball with the back of his bat into the crease and then onto his own stumps. He hopes his luck changes on the Thursday before the final. It has been a great home summer for Jordan Cox, who was handed a two-year contract with Central after impressing in his first four Tests and deftly replacing the injured Buttler in the crucial ODI series against Sri Lanka at The Oval.
But so far he has had a quiet run of three: two dropped catches behind the stumps – one much harder than the other – in England’s opening loss to Pakistan and scores of 18 and 6 with the bat. He could use a score. Mendis suggested his team would consider “a few changes” after progressing, with Dushmantha Chameera and spinners Maheesh Theekshana and Sachindu Colombage among others waiting in the wings.
Sri Lanka: (possible) 1 Kamindu Mendis, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Kusal Mendis (ct/wk), 4 Pavan Rathnayake, 5 Sahan Arachchige, 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Dunith Wellalage/Maheesh Theekshana, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Eshan Malinga/Asiteha Fernando, 11 Dilshan Madushanka. With nothing to play for, there is reason for England to rest their Test players – Josh Tongue, who is suffering from a sore toe, and Gus Atkinson – and learn more from Sonny Baker and Henry Crocombe. Unreleased pair James Coles and Mason Crane are yet to feature in this series and England will also explore a possible recall of Adil Rashid.
England: (possible) 1 Tom Banton, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (ct), 5 Jordan Cox (wk), 6 Will Jacks, 7 Sam Curran/Liam Dawson, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Sonny Baker, 11 Henry Crocombe. 231 for 9, 157 all out, 241 all out, 110 all out. These are the scores the teams have achieved in the four men’s ODIs at the Gaddafi Stadium this year, although 300 was regularly surpassed in last year’s Champions Trophy.
Expect another warm afternoon with temperatures expected to reach 30 degrees and no chance of rain. “We need to play our normal game with our normal intensity and practice the conditions before the final.” Kusal Mendis says his team won’t give up. “It gives you a bit of support and just lets you know, ‘I’m good enough to be here.’ Henry Crocombe told the Press Association that he had gained confidence from his debut on Sunday, even if it was costly.
ODI Tri-Series (PAK) 2026/27 ENG vs SL Match 6 Match Preview – Dead Rubber Blues for England as Sri Lanka prepares for final ODI Tri-Series (PAK) 2026/27 England vs Sri Lanka Match Preview: England are at their lowest ebb with three straight defeats after traumatic setbacks in their last two games
