On the back of a two game winning run, a confident English side will look to seal the semifinal birth here today against an under performing Sri lanka side.
On the other hand, lankan lions desperately need a win against England to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
After losing by seven wickets to group leaders West Indies in the last encounter, defending champions Sri lanka cannot afford any more slip up as it might very well rule them out of contention for a top-2 finish from their group.
Without the experienced duo of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene — key components of their 2014 World T20 triumph — lanka have struggled so far in the middle order.
As Dinesh Chandimal stressed several times during the pre-match press conference, the middle order has been the one problematic area for the Asian side so far.
But, the prospect of playing several times at Feroz Shah Kotla in the past compared to their opposite number, Angelo Mathews led side will have a better understanding of the conditions.
For England the fitness of their opener Alex Hales will also be a big worry. After being rested against Afghanistan in the last match due to a back problem, Hales participation against lanka is still unsure.
In the WT20 record chase of 230 against South Africa earlier in the group, Hales provided the perfect platform for the Poms with a 7-ball 17 runs. But he was missed badly in the last game against the Afghan side as England were loitering at 57/6 in one particular stage, only for Moeen Ali to come up with the rescue act. So England’s captain Eoin Morgan will be hoping for Hales to be fit for this crucial encounter.
As far as Sri lanka is concerned there is not any fresh injury worries after their T20 specialist lasith Malinga was earlier ruled out of the tournament.
Even though England, who are currently placed second in their group, find themselves in a comfortable position compared to their Sri lankan counterparts, the Poms have already played three games. So the game against lanka will be their last chance to qualify for the knockout stage, thus leaving them with no alternative but to go all out for a win. Anything but a slip up here on Saturday, will most probably rule England’s chances of making the last-4 cut.
Despite not performing to their full potential in their last game, both England and Sri lanka are expected to retain the same playing line-up.
If Hales is to be ruled out for Saturday’s match, then James Vince, who scored 22 of 18 against the Afghans, is expected to retain his place in the starting eleven alongside Jason Roy. With Morgan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and the in-form Joe Root, England will have a formidable batting group.
Their bowling is neither bad, if one has to take into account their spinners Adil Rashid and Ali are in good touch and they will fancy their chances in the usually slow Kotla wicket. liam Plunkett and Chris Jordan will be tasked with providing the pace on the night if Reece Topley is not fit enough to start.
As far as Sri lanka is concerned, this is the weakest squad they have possessed when going into a World Cup in the recent years. Beyond the aggressive Tillakaratne Dilshan and opener Chandimal, it is hard to look for anyone in the middle except for their captain Mathews. Apart from them, it is hard to place the money on the likes of lahiru Thirimanne and Chamara Kapugedera to perform regularly.
They do have a good bowling line-up in Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara and Mathews can also bowl.
But the main onus in the spin department will be on Rangana Herath with the pitch conditions expected to favour him. Jeffrey Vandersay will be looking to support Herath considerably. But, the lankan side are definitely short in that department without Ajantha Mendis.
SQUAD
Sri lanka: Angelo Mathews (captain), lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Shehan Jayasuriya, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga lakmal, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Dasun Shanaka, Milinda Siriwardana, lahiru Thirimanne.
England: Jason Roy, James Vince, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Sam Billings, David Willey, liam Plunkett, Reece Topley, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, liam Dawson.