While Southampton hosts the World Test Championship Final, another Asian side will be touring England but to play England in a limited-overs series only.
Sri Lanka are set to play a 3-match T20 series followed by a 3-match ODI series. Once this is concluded, England will gear up to host Pakistan just a couple of weeks later.
England would want to get back to winning ways after they succumbed against the World Test Championship finalists New Zealand and even though it's a different format, England would try to make a strong impression.
Sri Lanka will be full of angst after they lost to Bangladesh in their last series in May.
Will England assert their dominance comfortably or will Sri Lanka make things right against a better opponent?
Match Toss Time: 17:30 Local (22:00 IST)
Match Start Time: 18:00 Local (22:30 IST)
Match Venue: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Head to Head
Matches played: 9, England: 5, Sri Lanka: 4
Weather Conditions
The possibility of rain gods showering their blessings is deemed to be high. The teams will have to be prepared for adjustments as we aren't certain about what could happen.
The temperature is expected to be around the 18-20 degrees Celsius mark.
Pitch
The game is anticipated to be a high-scoring game and the team batting first would try to extract a lot from the pitch.
As time progresses, the pitch may start slowing down and that would be beneficial for a side that has spinners who could bowl in the right areas and stun the batsmen.
Anything above 180 would be an ideal score on the pitch. That being said, it still doesn't mean that the target won't be easy to chase. Four of the last six games played at the venue have gone in favor of the team batting second.
Team News
For the hosts, Ben Stokes is still sidelined with an injury. Joe Root will also not be a part of the series because of England's rotation policy and also the fact that Root is more focused on the Tests.
For Sri Lanka, the majority of players are fit and they have a good squad to select from. They would hope the find the right combination from the first game itself and will be hoping for better performances on the tour.
Probable Playing XI
England (ENG): Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan (C), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Sri Lanka (SL): Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera (C & WK), Kusal Mendis, Oshada Fernando/Pathum Nissanka, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Isuru Udana, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep
Must-Picks
There are quite a few batsmen who will be picked by a lot of people. Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, all of them are players who could decide the fate of the game on their own.
Kusal Perera would also be a great pick and he can take the game to the opposition.
ENG vs SL Fantasy Team
Captain and Vice-captain Picks
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