Sri Lanka and Australia meet again for the fourth One-Day International (ODI) at Dambulla. The hosts are trailing 1-2 in the ongoing series and this is a do-or-die game for them to keep the series alive. In the last ODI, which was also Tillakaratne Dilshan’s last 50-over game in international cricket, the hosts won the toss and batted first. No other batsmen stood for them apart from their seasoned performer, Dinesh Chandimal, who went on to score his fourth hundred, whereas his first against Australia and maiden ton at home. He single-handedly took his team’s score above 220-run mark but Australia won by two wickets after slipping slightly towards the end. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: SRI LANKA vs AUSTRALIA, 4th ODI, DAMBULLA
Sri Lankan batters need to take more responsibility: The hosts have had no good partnerships in the top-order so far against Australia, which includes the Test series as well. This has been mainly due to Mitchell Starc who has been remarkable on the slow pitches of Sri Lanka. He has managed to rattle their batting line-up almost every time he has been given the ball. Sri Lanka have been bewildered against his menacing pace and seam movement. Better application against one of the best bowlers in the world is something that Sri Lanka have not done well so far.
Angelo Mathews has stated time and again that they need to respect a bowler like Starc who is in good form but also need to find a way to see him off without throwing the momentum. Sadly, till now they have not succeeded against Starc. Danushka Gunathilaka has been a consistent victim of Starc in his early spells and the home team also have a new concern as to who would open the innings after the Dilshan’s departure. READ: SL vs AUS, 3rd ODI Highlights: Chandimal’s ton, Bailey’s resilience and tight finish in Dilshan’s farewell
Kusal Perera might open the innings being a specialist opener but he has also not looked comfortable against Starc. He was bowled by the left-arm bowler off a brilliant yorker in the last ODI which he will remember for long. Kusal Mendis, being in good form, is another option to open the innings as he has attacked the Australians with ease. Gunathilaka needs a partner who can lift some pressure off him certainly with the kind of form he is in, i.e. if the team still sticks with him.
The middle-lower has been doing the bulk of scoring for the side and will again be given maximum responsibility. Mathews, Chandimal and Mendis are their players whom they can depend on but the likes of Thisara Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva will have to stand up. The all-rounder, Perera, being an experienced campaigner will have to make some runs with the willow knowing his team is little inexperienced against a quality side like Australia.
Bowlers are in good stead: In their bowling department, Sri Lanka have bowlers done well as they restricted the Australians in almost every match or made things difficult for them. Their spinners are beaming in confidence after the success achieved in Tests and have been their regular wicket takers. Dilruwan Perera, Amila Aponso, Dhananjaya de Silva and Seekkuge Prasanna are four spinners with which the home team have stuck with seeing Australia’s woes against spin.
While Perera and Aponso took two wickets each in the last encounter, de Silva and Prasanna grabbed one wicket apiece. Prasanna started the downfall of the Australians in their chase of 227 whereas de Silva and the latter’s late breakthroughs caused some hiccups in the visitors’ chase towards the end. While in their batting it has been their middle or lower-order standing firm whereas spinners have been their regular wicket-takers.
Australia are a better team in ODIs and even regular skipper, Steven Smith, being absent they have it in them to beat the hosts. David Warner is a genuine leader and will hope for a repeat of a performance from his team from the last ODI. His team need to be more watchful against Sri Lanka’s spinners as barring that they have no such threat. ALSO READ: AUS beat SL by 2 wickets in 3rd ODI
With two close matches ending in their favour, Australia will like to believe that the momentum is in their hands but will still be wary of the hosts’ comeback in familiar conditions. If Sri Lanka’s batting comes up good in the last two matches, there is no reason why they may not stage a fightback in the series. Their spinners have shown they are not shy in taking responsibilities bowling second and causing enough damage to the Australians in their two wins. A top-order contribution may make it up for an all-round show.
Their seamers, in the form of Mathews and Perera, have applied the brakes on the run scoring and will be given the same task going ahead. If some of their youngsters pull up their socks, like Gunathilaka, both the Pereras, they may turn things around.
All in all, Sri Lanka will like to start afresh in the remaining two matches of the series in a bid to level and win it from behind. This will be their first ever ODI match knowing their three seasoned and consistent performers, in the form of Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, have said goodbye to the game. A new resurgent team may just do the unthinkable and level the series before heading into the series finale.
(Aditya Sahay is a journalist with CricketCountry who is completely into sports and loves writing about cricket in general. He can be followed on Twitter at adisahay7)
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