Sri Lanka vs. Scotland: Pool A Permutations, Key Players and Prediction
Despite having already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Cricket World Cup, Sri Lanka will be going all-out to win their final Pool A match when they take on Scotland on Wednesday.
The Lions currently sit in fourth place, while their opponents remain rooted to the bottom of the table, having failed to win a single match at the tournament so far.
| Position | Team | W | L | N/R | Net RR | Points |
| 1 | New Zealand | 5 | 0 | 0 | +3.090 | 10 |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | +1.597 | 7 |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 3 | 1 | 1 | +0.211 | 7 |
| 4 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 2 | 0 | -0.151 | 6 |
| 5 | England | 1 | 4 | 0 | -1.001 | 2 |
| 6 | Afghanistan | 1 | 4 | 0 | -1.881 | 2 |
| 7 | Scotland | 0 | 4 | 0 | -1.423 | 0 |
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Pool A Permutations
A win for Sri Lanka would catapult them—at least temporarily—into second, which would be an ideal finish.
Second place would mean Sri Lanka avoid team-of-the-tournament India in the quarter-final, as well as almost certainly avoiding a strong South Africa side, so long as the Proteas' clash with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday does not throw up any shocks.
A win, however, would not guarantee the Lions second place. Australia and Bangladesh can both overtake them should they win their final group matches, but it would put the pressure on their rivals ahead of clashes with Scotland and New Zealand respectively.
With Sri Lanka well aware of the value of a final win, and Scotland keen to avoid a complete whitewash at the World Cup, here are the key players to watch out for and a prediction for the match.
Players to Watch
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara continues to defy his age and has already put in some vintage displays at the World Cup.
Now 37 years old, Sangakkara is retiring from ODI cricket at the conclusion of the World Cup and Test-match cricket in August, per Sa'adi Thawfeeq of ESPN Cricinfo.
The batsman is going out with a bang though, and comes into this game on the back of three consecutive centuries.
Indeed, Sangakkara is the world's leading run-scorer in all formats combined since 2009, per Partha Bhaduri of The Times of India.
With such a top-quality batsman leading the charge, Sri Lanka can rack up a huge total against a beleaguered Scotland side.
Josh Davey
The young all-rounder has been Scotland's highlight of the tournament so far, and will also prove to be Scotland's biggest hope of upsetting Sri Lanka.
Despite the fact Scotland have only played four times, Davey has the eighth highest wickets tally at the World Cup with 11, per BBC Sport.
With Sri Lanka boasting a number of players to have scored a century at the tournament, including Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Lahiru Thirimanne, Davey will need to be on top form in order to help his team avoid a thrashing here.
In spite of what will no doubt be the 24-year-old's best efforts, Sri Lanka simply have too much firepower for Scotland to handle. Even if one or two of their batsmen have an off-day, their other quality batting options will be more than enough to secure a victory here.
Prediction: Sri Lanka win
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