Australia will face off against Sri Lanka in Match 19 of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The match will take place at Optus Stadium, Perth on Tuesday, October 25.
Australia and Sri Lanka have clashed against each other on 25 occasions in T20I cricket, out of which, Australia has emerged victorious 15 times and Sri Lanka has won 10 times.
In the T20 world Cup as well, Australia has dominated Sri Lanka winning three out of four times against them.
Team Preview
Australia
The Aussies didn’t really get a good start on their campaign as they got thrashed by the black caps in their inaugural match, by a huge margin of 89 runs. Firstly their bowlers got destroyed by the kiwi batters all over the ground and also while chasing they never looked in control and kept losing wickets.
The batting collapse in the first match heavily affected their net run rate, which is a very important factor for qualification. So from now on, they not only need to win matches but also win them by a margin in order to improve their net run rate
The Aussies will have to work on many aspects and capitalise on crucial moments in order to grab their first win.
Sri Lanka
From winning the Asia Cup after beating India and Pakistan in that tournament to losing their first group match against Namibia in qualifiers, Sri Lanka has been on a roller coaster ride this year in the T20I format.
Coming from a one-sided victory against Ireland, the Lankan lions must be high on confidence. After the initial defeat to Namibia, they grabbed three back-to-back wins and have built a nice momentum.
They will be looking to continue their winning streak and make it two from two against Australia to come in a strong position for a semi-final slot
Broadcasting Details
Star Sports network will broadcast live coverage of the match in India on television and digital platform Disney+ Hotstar (app, website)
Date and Time: 25th October, Tuesday 4:30 pm IST/11:00 am GMT/10:00 pm Local
Pitch/Venue Report
The Optus Stadium has hosted only 3 T20Is so far, out of which two were low-scoring encounters while Australia vs England match here saw the teams score a total of 400+ runs combined.
The pitch will definitely have something good for the pacers as there is a good amount of bounce available on this track. However, the pitch is flat too so the batters will look forward to racking up a good amount of runs. The pacers can surprise the batters with short balls
The straighter boundaries at the Optus Stadium are small, so the bowlers would not risk bowling too many fuller-length deliveries. Even the outfield is quite fast here which will also assist the batters only.
Probable Playing XIs
Australia: Aaron Finch(C), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(WK), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa
Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis(WK), Dhananjaya De Silva, Charith Asalanka, Ashen Bandra, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Binura Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara
Players To Watch Out For
David Warner
David Warner is currently the backbone of the Australian batting lineup. Getting him out early means you have done half the job. This was clearly visible in Australia’s last match when after Warner’s dismissal the other batsmen kept struggling throughout the inning.
It won’t be unfair to say that Sri Lanka is his favourite opposition in the T20I format. He loves bashing them a lot. Warner has scored a total of 642 runs vs Sri Lanka in T20Is with an average of 58.36 and a strike rate of 140.8
Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell is of the most destructive batsmen in this format. However, he has been in a bad patch since the start of this year. He has been averaging 16 this year with an unhealthy strike rate of 116.58 in T20Is.
However, he scored some runs in the last match against New Zealand ending his streak of single-digit scores. He looked in fine touch but got out attempting a switch hit to Ish Sodhi
The stage will be set for him against Sri Lanka to score some good runs and help his team clinch the victory
Kusal Mendis
Having scored two back-to-back match-winning fifties, the Sri Lankan opener is in red-hot form.
He scored an unbeaten 68 off 43 balls in the last match against Ireland leading the chase and also emerged as the man of the match.
He has been in fine form this year scoring 469 runs at an average of 33.5 and a strike rate of 136.34. His t20 world cap campaign has started on a high note as of now and must continue this in upcoming matches to help his team get a playoff spot.
Wanindu Hasaranga
Hasaranga has emerged as one of the finest leg spinners in the T20 format in recent times.
He has been the highest wicket-taker in T20Is in the last two years, taking a total of 64 wickets in 35 innings at a bowling average of 13.2
He is one of the most important reasons for Sri Lanka’s recent successes. He emerged as the player of the tournament in the recently held Asia cup won by Sri Lanka and also made an important contribution in the final against Pakistan.
Apart from being excellent with the ball, Hasaranga is also handy with the bat and can score some important runs which were evident in the final of the Asia cup.
Key Matchups For AUS vs SL
Australian Batsman vs Sri Lankan Bowlers
Aaron Finch vs Maheesh Theekshana: Runs-44 Balls-56 SR-78.57 Dismissals-1
Aaron Finch vs Dhananjaya De Silva: Runs-48 Balls-27 SR-177.78 Dismissals-4
Glenn Maxwell vs Dhananjaya De Silva: Runs-46 Balls-28 SR-164.29 Dismissals-4
Glenn Maxwell vs Maheesh Theekshana: Runs-38 Balls-22 SR-172.73 Dismissals-2
David Warner vs Dhananjaya De Silva: Runs-53 Balls-32 SR-165.63 Dismissals-0
Sri Lankan Batsman vs Australian Bowlers
Dasun Shanaka vs Adam Zampa: Runs-29 Balls-31 SR-93.55 Dismissals-2
Dasun Shanaka vs Josh Hazlewood: Runs-30 Balls-25 SR-120 Dismissals-2
Charith Asalanka vs Josh Hazlewood: Runs-10 Balls-28 SR-35.71 Dismissals-0
AUS vs SL Dream11 Team
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Match Prediction
Australia has already beaten Sri Lanka in both the home and away series earlier this year and is comparatively much stronger on paper.
So we predict Australia to win this match and Glenn Maxwell might be the top performer.
