CWC 2023: Netherlands captain Scott Edwards wins toss, opts to bat against Sri Lanka

LUCKNOW: Netherlands captain Scott Edwards won the toss and opted to bat first against Sri Lanka in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 here at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday.

After suffering back-to-back World Cup defeats, the Netherlands added spice to the tournament with an upset victory over South Africa. Injury-riddled Sri Lanka are the only team in this World Cup that have yet to win a match.

Speaking at the time of the toss, Edwards said, "We are going to have a bat first. The pitch looks pretty good, hopefully put a score on and look to defend it. We played reasonably well the other night, but still have some improvements to make. Every team that is here would be saying the same thing, you have to probably win 5 games and that's what we are here to do. We have got some quality spinners and quicks as well, we just come into the game, make some plans and go from there. No changes."

Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis said, "We have three injuries. We have to do well in both batting and bowling, hope we do well in today's game. We have positive things in the previous matches, we have batted really well. And the bowling unit has to bowl in partnerships. I am enjoying my own game, enjoying the captaincy."

Netherlands (Playing XI): Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards(w/c), Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt and Paul van Meekeren.

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis(w/c), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan Hemantha, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha and Dilshan Madushanka.