Australia vs Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I: Aaron Finch vs Lasith Malinga, Upul Tharanga vs Pat Cummins and other Key battles

Once again, on Sunday, there will be quite a few fiery battles on the field when some of the big names of world cricket take the field. Let’s take a look at them:

Geelong will make its debut as international venue when Australia and Sri Lanka take on each other in the second Twenty20 International (T20I) of the three-match series on Sunday. After winning the first match of the series, Sri Lanka will be brimming with confidence and will look to win the second game and seal the series. Australia, on the other hand, will be under immense pressure to win the match and save the series. They have never beaten Sri Lanka at home in a T20I match in a bilateral series, and that will be on their minds when they take the field.

The first T20I went down to the wire, with Sri Lanka winning the match off the last ball of the match in a tight chase. There were plenty of individual clashes within the bigger clash. Once again, on Sunday, there will be quite a few fiery battles on the field when some of the big names of world cricket take the field. Let’s take a look at them:

Aaron Finch vs Lasith Malinga: When Malinga took the field in the first T20I after almost a year’s gap, he proved to everyone who thought he now is a spent force, wrong. The Lankan spearhead picked up two important wickets of Travis Head and Ashton Turner and gave just 29 runs from his 4 overs. He opened the bowling and was effective against Australian openers Finch and Michael Klinger. The Australian stand-in captain Finch, in particular, will look to dominate the Yorker-specialist from Sri Lanka when these two teams meet on Sunday.

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Michael Klinger vs Lakshan Sandakan: Klinger waited long to don the Australia jersey. A domestic stalwart, who has been around on the Australian cricket scene for past 18 odd years, got this opportunity at the age of 36 due to the weird scheduling, which saw the Australian Test team travel to India, coinciding with this series. But Klinger, who had a terrific Big Bash League (BBL) 2016-17, did well in the first game scoring 38 off 32. He dealt with the Sri Lankan pacers well and was troubled only when the spinners came into the operation.

Lakshan Sandakan, the Chinaman bowler, eventually ended Klinger’s stay. Sandakan had a great time in South Africa, where he troubled the Proteas batsmen with his variations and guile. He was once again effective against Klinger. On Sunday too, a key battle between the two shall be on display.

Upul Tharanga vs Pat Cummins: Things have changed drastically for Tharanga, who first made a comeback to the Sri Lankan team after a year’s gap in 2016 and then saw himself leading the side in the absence of regular skipper Angelo Mathews. However, his form has remained a cause of worry. Barring an odd innings, the makeshift captain has struggled with his consistency. In the first T20I too he was dismissed for naught by Cummins, who himself should have been in India with the senior team. Both will once again open their respective teams’ charge in their disciplines and will be up against each other. This, without doubt, will be a riveting contest.

Niroshan Dickwella vs Adam Zampa: Dickwella has been the silver lining for Sri Lanka in recent times. The southpaw has been a revelation at the top of the order. He was the reason why Sri Lanka won the T20I series in South Africa. In the first T20I too, Dickwella continued his rich vein of form, scoring a quick-fire 30 off 25 balls. He was, however, outfoxed by leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who finished his four overs with figures of 2 for 26. Just like Dickwella, Zampa too has been in fine nick for his side in past year or so. Especially, in T20 cricket, he has enjoyed decent success of late. On Sunday, these two will look to have a go against each other, which will make for an exciting contest.

Asela Gunaratne vs Ashton Turner: This is going to be the clash of the all-rounders. Gunaratne was the Man of the Match in Melbourne, for his match-winning 52 runs off 37 balls and an important wicket of Finch. Incidentally, he was dismissed by Turner, who was inexplicably underused. Turner bowled just two overs but gave away 12 runs and picked up 2 crucial wickets. He also contributed 18 quick runs with the bat. Their respective sides will once again bank on their all-round skills in the second T20I. And when they do come face-to-face, it will be redemption time for Gunaratne.

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