Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bowl first against Namibia in the opening match of the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday.

The Netherlands will play United Arab Emirates in the second qualifier in Group A, also in Geelong, which will determine four teams to advance to the main event starting later this week.

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Sri Lanka, the T20 World Cup champions in 2014, sustained a big blow on the eve of the tournament when left-arm fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka was ruled out with a quadriceps injury.

The fact that the Namibians, Dutch, and Emiratis will compete for a single spot is still closer to the truth. Even before Dasun Shanaka‘s squad won the Asia Cup in the UAE last month, it was difficult to picture the Lankans losing to any of the other teams in the group, which only emphasises the islands’ standing as favourites to advance.

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Geelong’s drop-in pitch defies historical analysis, which increases the uncertainty of what might happen. However, the forecast for early rain, which washed out one of all four teams’ warm-up games on Wednesday and Thursday, might animate the surface at least for the opening interactions of the day’s and the tournament’s opening match.

In that match, Sri Lanka seemed to have too much firepower in all areas to be defeated by Namibia. Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara’s recovery from the injuries that prevented them from competing in the Asia Cup fits that scenario and raises the possibility of a confrontation with David Wiese, Namibia’s de facto nuclear option.

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Lineups:

Namibia: Divan la Cock, Michael van Lingen, Stephan Baard, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (captain), Jan Frylinck, J.J. Smit, David Wiese, Zane Green, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo .

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan.