Australia will be looking to bounce back from their crushing loss to New Zealand when they take on Asia Cup Champions Sri Lanka in their second Super 12 match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Perth on Tuesday.
Australia are not only the defending Men's T20 World Cup champions but also the hosts of this mega event, and so understandably were one of the favourites entering this tournament. Their confidence was also sky-high thanks to playing some exciting cricket in this format since the tournament's last edition. But the Aussies were brought down to earth by their Trans-Tasman rivals on the first weekend of the Super12 stage, as New Zealand completely outplayed them in their opening match.
It wasn’t just the result that was the issue but also the performance; the bowling lacked penetration and the batting unit collapsed under pressure. This was Australia's second loss on the trot following their defeat to India in the warm-up match.
The failure of the bowling unit to do well in these two matches is a bit concerning for the hosts, but Australia still need to bank on the experience of their bowlers. The likes of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa are seasoned campaigners and are also extremely familiar with their home conditions, so can be expected to bounce back sooner rather than later.
The Australian batters, however, have to be a bit careful about the way they plan to tackle the Sri Lankan spinners on Tuesday. Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana have emerged as one of the best spin-bowling pairs in the world of late and can cause quite a lot of damage. The spin duo was seen in good rhythm during the match against Ireland as they picked up four wickets between them, going at a mean combined economy rate of 5.50.
The Sri Lankan pacers have also supported their spinners well throughout this campaign. The batting unit did disappoint when they suffered a shocking loss to Namibia in their opening match of the tournament, but they regrouped soon and have delivered excellent performances since then to qualify for the Super12 stage.
The openers in particular have been in very good form. Pathum Nissanka scored a fifty against the UAE, while Kusal Mendis is also coming into this match on the back of consecutive half-centuries. Nissanka sat out of the last match with an injury, but Dhananjaya de Silva stepped up in his place and delivered with a good knock of 31. The middle order is yet to let fly, but there is no doubt over the quality of players like Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka.
As things stand right now, Sri Lanka have gained a huge advantage in the group with a NRR of +2.467 after their massive win against Ireland. Australia, on the other hand, have a net run rate of -4.450 after their heavy loss against the Kiwis. So, there will be extra pressure on the hosts going into this contest as they not only need to win it but they need to do so by a big margin in an attempt to redress the balance. Another loss for Australia, combined with that poor NRR, could be terminal.
Predicted Playing XIs
Australia:
Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Sri Lanka:
Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Ashen Bandara, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Lahiru Kumara
