Published: Sep 09, 2016, 05:19 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 10, 2016, 09:16 AM (IST)
Greetings everyone! Welcome to CricketCountry’s live match coverage of the last Twenty20 (T20I) between Sri Lanka and Australia at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. After a drubbing the visitors received in the hands of hosts in Tests, Australia came back hard to win the One-Day International (ODI) series 4-1. They came to the shortest format with a lot of confidence and won the first T20I comprehensively by 85 runs. Winning the toss, Sri Lanka opted to bowl but their decision went wrong as Glenn Maxwell went berserk scoring 145 off 65 balls. Sri Lanka eventually lost the match even after scoring 178 for 9 in 20 overs due to Australia scoring the highest ever T20I score of 263 for 3. Full Cricket Scorecard: Sri Lanka vs Australia 2nd T20I at Colombo
Sri Lanka will like to gain lost momentum ever since they were outplayed in the ODI series and comeback hard in the final match of the tour. This will also be Tillakaratne Dilshan‘s last international match. Dilshan retired from 50-overs format after the third match of the five-ODI series. Dilshan will like to sign off with a bang in the format which has given him a lot of success in his sparkling career. Dilshan, who batted in almost every position before finally settling as a fast-scoring opener, has racked up 87 Tests, 330 ODIs and 78 T20s during a stellar 17 year-old career.
Sri Lanka came out to the field for the first T20I without regular skipper, Angelo Mathews. Mathews suffered a calf injury during the fourth ODI and bowed out of the remaining matches of the tour. In Mathews’ absence, Dinesh Chandimal is leading the side but so far has not seen any luck coming his side. Chandimal will also like to end the long season at home with another vital contribution as he has been in prolific form off late.
Coming back to the match, nothing went right for the home side at Pallekele in the first T20I and they will like to rectify their mistakes before they lose another series. Sri Lanka will have to find answers against Maxwell who in his comeback match smashed 14 fours and 6 sixes. No Sri Lankan bowler had any answer to Maxwell’s rampage as everyone conceded over 10 per over in their four overs. Maxwell also scored the second highest score in T20Is falling short of Aaron Finch’s 158.
David Warner, stand-in captain in place of Steven Smith, also looked in good touch with a quickfire 28 followed by vital cameos by Usman Khawaja and Travis Head. Kasun Rajitha was the most expensive bowler of the lot with an economy rate of 15.33. Sri Lanka will consider to change their line-up before the scoreline moves to Australia’s favour by 2-0.
Sri Lanka’s precarious run in the opening position continued as both openers Dilshan and Kusal Perera went early in a daunting chase. Chandimal again was the only shining armour with a valiant 58 along with Chamara Kapugedara’s 43. Mitchell Starc continued his tight spells from one end as he picked up three wickets. Scott Boland was also economical with a three-wicket haul. With a tour to South Africa coming up, this final T20I becomes important for Australia and their players to showcase their talent before the national selectors.
Australia have a long season ahead with South Africa and Pakistan touring their nation post which they will embark on their tour to India to play a four-Test series. Given how they have fared in the subcontinent, this series against Sri Lanka becomes highly crucial for their success in upcoming tour. Warner will want his team to not get complacent and go for a whitewash in the T20Is.
On the other hand, with Sri Lanka bowling already lacking the strength, Mathews’ absence will be a big matter of concern. Mathews serves as an all-rounder, being one of the pillars of middle-order batting and the leading pacer of the pack. Without him, the bowlers look like scattered forces which only in turn helps the opposition. Due to shortage of options, Sri Lanka may have to gather whatever strength they have to combat the strong opponents who are confident after the bashing the home side without sweating much.
Finally, one thing that Sri Lanka need is balance. Balance is required in batting order as they have a heavy middle-order and inexperienced top-order. Sri Lanka need balance between good batting and bowling as doing good in just one department does not always ensure victory. All-round performance with every player contributing is the key to long-term success and that is what must be on Sri Lanka’s mind.
R Premadasa Stadium of Colombo is expected to be jam-packed as Dilshan will bid goodbye to international cricket at the age of 39 years and 330 days. Dilshan is second-highest run-scorer in T20Is with 1,888 runs under his belt from 79 T20Is at an average of 28.60. Dilshan has scored a century in T20Is as well, a feat only achieved by one more Sri Lankan batsman — Mahela Jayawardene. Dilshan has also scored 13 T20I half-centuries which is only second to Virat Kohli who has scored 16.
Dilshan could not perform in the first T20I and will be raring to go hard at the mighty Australians to get a thundering farewell in his last innings. An exciting match is on the cards as Australia will be hell bent on completing a whitewash and finish the tour on a high which started on a completely wrong note. On the other hand, Chandimal and his boys will be eager to give a fitting farewell to Dilshan by leveling the series.
Squads:
Australia: Glenn Maxwell, David Warner (c), Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, George Bailey, Moises Henriques, Peter Nevill (wk), James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Scott Boland, Matthew Wade, John Hastings
Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal (c), Kusal Mendis, Thisara Perera, Chamara Kapugedera, Sachith Pathirana, Sachithra Senanayake, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Dasun Shanaka, Seekkuge Prasanna, Milinda Siriwardana
