Another bright day for the cricket fans as no rain is forecasted for the match between Australia and Sri Lanka at The Oval. The rain has helped Sri Lanka in two games in which they had no chance of winning it but still earned one point from each match (Pakistan and Bangladesh). Australia will show no mercy in the upcoming contest.
Australia has dominated in most of the matches they played in this tournament. They should not have any problem in beating the weakest Sri Lankan team in the World Cup since 1992. The openers Finch and Warner are in excellent form and giving brilliant starts to their innings. The middle order hasn’t done anything significant so far, but they would be hoping to score some runs in this game. If Australia bats first then there is a high chance of them scoring 300 or against this toothless bowling attack.
Their bowlers Cummins and Starc have proved themselves as one of the best opening bowling pair. They shouldn’t have any problem in defending even a score of 200 or less.
Sri Lanka has plenty of problems, the whole team doesn’t look like a unit and has been in the news for more than usual due to off the field controversies, such as complaining about no swimming pool in the hotel, no extra leg space in the bus and so on.
The only bright spot Sri Lanka has is there bowling legend Malinga who still offers great line and length with slow yorkers which can disguise any batsman in the world. Though it will be a miracle for Sri Lanka to beat Australia, you never know as cricket is a funny game.
The weather at The Oval is perfect for a cricket match, bright sunny with mild wind.
Players to watch out
David Warner is in top form and has proved himself as one of the best batsmen around the world at this moment. He batted like a champion, scored a hundred against Pakistan, the 50s against India and Afghanistan. Warner was failed only against one team, i.e., West Indies. He, along with Finch, can destroy any bowling attack.
Its high time for Angelo Mathews to deliver and if he doesn’t, then it will be curtains down for Sri Lanka in the tournament. He was the best bet for the young Sri Lankan team before they started their campaign. However, it seems like he is entirely out of touch, with two ducks in as many games shattered the hopes of Sri Lankan fans. However, if he does well, it will be an excellent thing for Sri Lanka.
Australia v Sri Lanka in ODIs:
Overall: Matches 97, Australia Won 60, Sri Lanka Won 33 No Result 4
World Cup: Matches 9, Australia Won 7, Sri Lanka Won 1, No Result 1
Recent Form (most recent first): Australia W L W W W, Sri Lanka NR NR W L W
ICC Rankings: Australia (5), Sri Lanka (9)
Upcoming Records:
Finch needs 30 runs to become the 15th Australian to reach 500 runs milestone in the World Cup.
Starc has 31 wickets in the World Cup, only McGrath (71), Lee (35), Hogg (34), Tait (34) and Warne (32) have taken more wickets for Australia in the World Cup. He needs just 4 wickets to be number two Australian bowler in World Cup history.
Squads:
Australia: Aaron Finch (capt), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Avishka Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera (wk), Thisara Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhananjaya de Silva, Milinda Siriwardana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay.
