Colombo, Feb 19 (IANS) Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat against Zimbabwe in their Group B contest of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup here at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka, upon winning the toss, said, “Our batsmen need to put runs on the board. So I’m happy to bat first. Madushanka comes straight into the XI. Dushmantha Chameera is rested, and Pramod Madushan comes in for him. It’s very tough because it’s a World Cup, and we need our best players in the playing XI. It’s unfortunate, but we have to deal with it. The batsmen have put in outstanding performances, which has given us a lot of confidence. At the same time, Pathirana and Wanindu got injured, but the replacements have done the job really well for us. That’s the key. Also, our fielding has improved a lot. All the key areas we wanted to work on, we’ve done superbly well. Hopefully, we’ll carry that into the next round.”

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza said, “Looking at the conditions and the chance of drizzle, under lights it plays better from our previous experience. So it’s a win-win situation. Our bowlers are full of confidence, and the conditions give them the best chance. Hopefully, we can restrict them to a low score. I still think, as a group, it changes a lot for us. Topping the group and going into the Super stage is a big deal. We know there’s going to be a full house as well. It’s about gaining more respect and hopefully turning a few Sri Lankan fans into Zimbabwean fans today. That’s another tick. These are habits – once you build good habits, they stay with you. For us, it’s about getting into a winning habit, putting ourselves in winning positions, and closing games. Those habits are still a big tick for us. We’ve got the same side as the last game.”

Playing XIs

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Dasun Shanaka (c), Kamindu Mendis, Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Pramod Madushan

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (c), Dion Myers, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Wellington Masakadza, Brad Evans, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani

–IANS

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