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Sri Lanka will aim for ruthlessness against Scotland. © Cricbuzz
It has been a mixed World Cup for Sri Lanka so far. Barring their losses to New Zealand and Australia, they have performed wonderfully against the other teams. However, the major talking point for them is the list of injuries sweeping through the team. Before the tournament, Dhammika Prasad was injured while in the course of the tournament, Jeevan Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne were ruled out due to injuries. Rangana Herath was injured during the game against England and he is racing against time to be fit. The body blow, though, came on Monday when Dinesh Chandimal, who had scored a 22-ball fifty, was ruled out due to a hamstring injury.
However, the Sri Lankans have depth in their squad and the batting looks in great shape. Kumar Sangakkara, who became the first batsman in World Cup history to make three consecutive hundreds, will be aiming for a record fourth consecutive ton.
For Scotland, it has been a poor tournament. Although they put up a fight against New Zealand, they were woeful against the other teams. The one-wicket loss to Afghanistan in Dunedin hurt them badly and they have never recovered since then.
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat in Hobart. They have made a couple of changes with Kusal Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara coming into the side while for Scotland, they also made three changes.
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews (c), Dushmantha Chameera, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga
Scotland: Kyle Coetzer, Calum MacLeod, Freddie Coleman, Matt Machan, Preston Mommsen (c), Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Michael Leask, Alasdair Evans, Rob Taylor
Scotland have bowled with discipline and they have not allowed the Sri Lankan openers to get away. The pressure built on the SL openers has resulted in a wicket. Alasdair Evans angles across a full delivery just outside off and lures Lahiru Thirimanne into the mistake. The batsman goes for a drive and the edge flies to Pretson Mommsen at second slip.
Lahiru Thirimanne c Preston Mommsen b Alasdair Evans 4 (21)
Kumar Sangakkara's appetite for runs refuses to go away as he continues to bat confidently. Dilshan, who is also in great form, has gotten going with a couple of boundaries. The partnership is looking ominous for Scotland.
Dilshan and Sangakkara batted confidently after the fall of Thirimanne. ©Reuters
Tillakaratne Dilshan continued his fine form in this World Cup by slamming his 44th ODI fifty off 54 balls. His last three scores in this tournament have been 161*, 44 and 62. He also loves batting in Hobart. In 2012, he slammed an unbeaten 160 against India.
Kumar Sangakkara has piled on records in this 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. Here is a tweet that puts Sangakkara's achievements in perspective and puts him in the league of modern greats.