England, whose World Cup cannot get worse than what it has been, will take on the Netherlands at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Wednesday. The Dutch will look to qualify for the Champions Trophy to be held next year by beating the English in this game. It will not be an easy task, though. England skipper Jos Buttler will feel that his side will want to use the game to come back into form and dictate terms to the Netherlands. Yet, some of the Dutch players have had a very good tournament, and one can expect them to pass their English test with flying colours. Bas de Leede and skipper Scott Edwards will give a stern test to the England side on Wednesday.
Probable Playing XIs
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (c and wk), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
The Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, Wesley Barresi, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanaru, Scott Edwards (c and wk), Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt.
Key Players
Ben Stokes: Although he has had a rather quiet World Cup, Ben Stokes can light it up anytime. England would try to hold him, and help themselves get their second win in the tournament.
Bas de Leede: All-rounder Bas de Leede offers a lot of variety to this Dutch side, and one can expect him to come good against the English. His batting in the top order gives his side the ability to set up big totals.
Match Prediction
Neither England nor the Netherlands look to be the favourites to win this game. However, if one is to go by current form, the Dutch stand a good chance of beating their opponents.
New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Match Prediction, ICC ODI World Cup 2023, 09.11.2023
New Zealand, with the sole intention of keeping their semifinal dreams alive, will take Sri Lanka on at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday. The Lankans, already out of the semifinal race, will hope to spoil the party for the Kiwis and put up a good performance. New Zealand, with their skipper Kane Williamson back in the side, will hope to put the matter to rest early and beat Sri Lanka. The latter, however, have a few very good batsmen in their ranks, and it will not be easy for the Kiwi bowlers to get them quickly. The Lankans' confidence will be dented owing to their poor showing against India. However, the upcoming game offers them another opportunity to rectify matters.
Probable Playing XIs
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santer, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (c and wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka.
Key Players
Rachin Ravindra: Young Rachin Ravindra has already scored three centuries in this tournament and will be looking to add to his tally. He gives New Zealand a lot of aggression at the top of the order.
Kusal Mendis: Wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis, who has been entrusted the job to lead the Lankans owing to the injury sustained by regular captain Dasun Shanaka, has been in terrific form. He knows how to play a moderate brand of cricket.
Match Prediction
New Zealand appear to be the favourites to win this game. We expect them to do so quite comfortably, given how poor the Lankans' run has been in this tournament. The Kiwis will be able to qualify for the semis, too.