Sri Lanka will play for the first time against Papua New Guinea in a T20 match as they face off in Sri Lanka’s 2nd warm up game in ICC T20 World Cup 2021 which will be played at 11.30am SL time today.
Papua New Guinea Journey so far
Following near-misses in their qualification attempts for the 2014 and 2016 ICC Men’s T20 World Cups, Papua New Guinea left nothing to chance in the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier and were the first team to seal their spot after topping Group A.
A five-wicket win over Netherlands in the group stage proved decisive and though the Dutch got their own back by winning the final, Papua New Guinea were still able to celebrate qualifying for their first ever ICC global tournament.
Player to watch out: Assad Vala
Assad Vala’s runs from number three will be pivotal while the skipper’s off-spin is likely to play an important role complementing the pace of Norman Vanua.
Vanua, also a hard-hitting batsman, took a hat-trick against Bermuda in the 2019 Qualifiers and will be trusted with the vital death overs.
Opener Tony Ura, meanwhile, has a T20I century to his name and remains the owner of his country’s highest ODI score following a sublime 151 against Ireland in March 2018.
Papua New Guinea have struggled to find their rhythm this year, losing eight consecutive ODIs, but will hope to recapture the form which saw them qualify for this tournament in style when the action gets underway.