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Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka started on rather expected lines but the last couple of matches have certainly sparked some excitement in what was turning out to be a rather humdrum tour. A close win for Sri Lanka in the final T20I followed by a close 1st ODI between the same two sides has set things perfectly for the two remaining matches.
The second match of the series between Sri Lanka and Australia is to be played on 16th June 2022 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. These two sides produced a cracker of a first match and we expect the second one too to be a nail-biting fixture. Certainly, not the one to be missed.
SRI LANKA VS AUSTRALIA TEAM PREVIEWS
SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka is going through the rebuilding phase at the moment – trying to find the Sangakkaras, Jayawardene’s, and Muralitharan of this generation and while they have not done to their potential in this tour so far, they would believe that they are close to finding a settled side. This is important concerning the 2023 50-over World Cup and they would now want to get some favourable results under their belt.
While Sri Lanka was outplayed in the T20I series, it was far from the same in the longer version of the game. If anything, the hosts exposed Australia’s vulnerabilities of playing slower bowlers and would want to exploit that going forward. Having said that, they will be without Wanindu de Silva Hasaranga, who was the wrecker in chief for the Lankans in the first match.
Without him, Sri Lanka will likely struggle to fill the spinner as well as the lower middle-order batter’s position. Having said that, they would not be too worried largely because of the number of options they have in the bank. The Lankans will need their experienced players to do well in the upcoming match and if that happens, getting past them could prove to be a very difficult task.
AUSTRALIA
It’s not been long since Australia was found struggling in limited-overs cricket, but ever since their T20 World Cup title win, they have just been brilliant, regardless of the format. They started their ODI campaign against Sri Lanka with a close win, which followed a 2-1 win in the T20I series. They would want to win this upcoming ODI as well and stopping them could be difficult.
The impact of the long Sri Lankan tour is beginning to tell on the Aussies with a couple of their players ruled out of the remainder of the matches. Marcus Stoinis and Ashton Agar are both ruled out because of a side strain each and Australia will need to find worthy replacements quickly.
Despite the injuries, the on-paper combination will be the least of their concerns. Their primary concern will be the declining form of their bowlers, which was always going to be on the cards in such a long tournament. On the batting front, however, the Australians look well-settled with almost everything falling into the right places. As was the case in the last match, the Aussies will need someone experienced to contribute with a match-winning performance and if that happens, getting past them could prove to be a very steep climb.
SRI LANKA VS AUSTRALIA MATCH DETAILS:
Match: Sri Lanka vs Australia, 2nd ODI, Australia tour of Sri Lanka, 2022
Date and Time: June 16, 2022, Thursday, 02:30 PM IST
Venue: Pallekele Stadium, Pallekele
WEATHER CONDITIONS
We would see overcast skies over Pallekele on June 16 and there are predictions for rain during the game. The surface would be a flat one where batsmen would be able to play their strokes freely. Bowlers have little margin for error and the side that bats first in the game shall need 300 runs on the board to feel safe.
VENUE DETAILS
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium has big boundaries, but the outfield is quick, and runs have been scored by batsmen here. There isn’t much on this surface for the fast bowlers as they must bend their backs to get rewards. The track is conducive to spin bowling, and we have seen spinners trouble batsmen as the ball grips and turns on this surface sharply.
TOSS: TO BAT
It was a brilliant wicket to bat on in the last game and we saw a high-scoring contest where the bowlers had a tough time. It is in the second innings that the spinners get the ball to turn. Hence, the side winning the toss here would opt to bat first and take advantage of the surface.
SRI LANKA VS AUSTRALIA IS PROBABLE XIS
SRI LANKA
The fifties from Danushka Gunathilaka (55), Pathum Nissanka (56), and Kusal Mendis (86*) helped them post 300 on the board in their last match. Wanindu Hasaranga bowled brilliantly and picked up four wickets but they failed as a unit as there were unsuccessful in defending the total.
PROBABLE XI
Pathum Nissanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana
AUSTRALIA
In the first ODI, Ashton Agar and Marnus Labuschagne picked up two wickets each as they restricted Sri Lanka to 300 in their 50 overs. Steve Smith scored a half-ton (53) but a sensational knock from Glenn Maxwell (80* off 51 balls) helped them chase down the total with two wickets in hand.
PROBABLE XI
David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson, Josh Hazlewood
PROBABLE TOP PERFORMERS
PROBABLE THE BEST BATTER OF THE MATCH
GLENN MAXWELL:
Glenn Maxwell turned out to be the hero for Australia in the previous game. The dasher destroyed the morale of the Sri Lankan bowlers at the backend of the run chase as he single-handedly tormented them with his batting performance. Maxwell only had the tail-enders for the company in the end, but he remained unaffected despite that. The power-hitter remained unbeaten on 80 runs from 51 deliveries.
PROBABLE THE BEST BOWLER OF THE MATCH
WANINDU HASARANGA:
Wanindu Hasaranga broke the backbone of Australia with his vicious bowling spell. Hasaranga was expected to dominate on the Kandy wicket that provides a lot of assistance to spinners in the second half. He finished his brilliant spell with figures of 4/58 from his nine overs at an economy rate of 6.4.
SRI LANKA VS AUSTRALIA MATCH PREDICTION
The first game of the ODI series was a nail-biting contest and the Australian side managed to hold their nerves to get across the line. They will look to extend their lead whereas the Lankan side will be hoping to level the series in the second ODI.
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