Published: Sep 06, 2016, 05:00 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 06, 2016, 10:20 PM (IST)
Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s coverage of the first T20 International (T20I) between Sri Lanka and Australia at Pallekele. Australia certainly have the momentum going into this game, having won the One-Day International (ODI) series by a convincing 4-1 margin. They will look to stat the first of the two T20Is with a win as well. In the absence of Steven Smith, David Warner will continue to lead the ODI side. Under Warner’s captaincy, Australia have won the last three ODIs after the selectors decided to rest Smith. Australia suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the Test series ahead of the ODI series, which made them lose their No. 1 rankings in Tests, which they had attained, ahead of the tour. Full Cricket Scorecard, Sri Lanka Vs Australia, 1st T20I match
Australia do not have a good record at Pallekele, losing both the T20Is they payed at this venue in 2011. But they will look to set the record straight by not only registering their first win at this venue, but also take a 1-0 lead in the series
Sri Lanka will be without their skipper Angelo Mathews for this series. Mathews suffered a calf strain in the fourth ODI and has been ruled out of the rest of the series. In Mathews’ absence, it will be Dinesh Chandimal, who will lead the side. Sri Lanka have also released Thisara Perera and chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan were released from the ODI squad ahead of the fifth match, but Perera has been named in the T20I squad and if fit, should get a game today. Dasun Shanaka and Suranga Lakmal are the other fast bowling options for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka vs Australia, 1st T20I: Preview
The focus however during this series will be on Tilakaratne Dilshan, who will be playing his final two international matches. Dilshan retired after from ODIs after the third match against Australia, bringing an end to his illustrious 17-year career. Dilshan, who has the shot “Dilsccop” named after him will want to walk away from the game with one last hurrah.
Australia have called upon the services of Glenn Maxwell to their T20I squad, which will be a major boost to their batting line-up. Maxwell was dropped after a poor show in the tri-nation series in the Caribbean, but is a dangerous player in the shortest format as he can take the match away from the opposition. Their dangerous opening batsman Aaron Finch and hard-hitting middle-order batsman Chris Lynn miss out due to injury and Australia as a result have asked George Bailey and Matthew Wade to stay back for the T20I series as well. Australia now have Wade and Peter Nevill as their wicketkeepers. Finch was hit n the right index finger while fielding and after a quick look at the X-Rays, it was revealed that he would need some time to recover and therefore will not be taking part in the T20I series.
The weather at Pallekele is expected to be a bit cloudy and the rain should ideally stay away. We can expect a full game. Sri Lanka and Australia will play their final match of the tour at Colombo (RPS), which will be the second and final T20i match of the series.
Sri Lanka are currently ranked eighth in the ICC T20I rankings and Australia are just two places above them in the sixth position. Sri Lanka has a poor outing in the recently concluded Asia Cup T20 and the T20 World Cup 2016. They crashed out in the group stages on both occasions. They also lost the one-off T20I against England during their tour and have a chance to redeem themselves in the T20I series against Australia.
Not surprisingly, Australia maintained the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings, which was released after their win in the ODI series. Considering the form Australia have been of late in the limited-overs fixtures, they once again should be able to put in a good show in the T20I series and perhaps go on to win it as well. But Sri Lanka would want to do it for Dilshan, who will not been seen in Sri Lankan colours after this series.
Like Sri Lanka, Australia too crashed out in the group stages of the T20 World Cup 2016, losing to India in a virtual quarter-final. Without Finch and Lynn in their squad, they will find it even more difficult to difficult to win the match. They however have limited spin options. They have Adam Zampa as their specialist spinner. Maxwell and Travis Head too can turn their arms around when needed. They will once again depend on Mitchell Starc to do some damage initially.
Sri Lanka on the other hand are spoilt for choices when it comes to spinners. They have Sachith Pathirana, Sachitra Senanayake and Seekkuge Prasanna as their frontline spin options. To add to this, they have part-timers in Milinda Siriwardana, Dhananjaya de Silva and Dilshan too, who could be called into bowl when needed. Chandimal will don the gloves for this series, which will give Sri Lanka an option of paying an extra batsman or a bowler.
At the conclusion of this tour, Australia will travel to South Africa, where they will play one ODI against Ireland and also a five-match ODI series against South Africa. Sri Lanka n the other hand, have a long break before facing South Africa in the first of three Tests against South Africa at Port Elizabeth. They will play three Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is during that tour, before heading to Australia for yet another stern test, ahead of the Champions Trophy 2017 in England.
Squads:
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (c & wk), Dasun Shanaka, Suranga Lakmal, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Seekkuge Prasanna, Milinda Siriwardana, Sachith Pathirana, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Sachithra Senanayake, Thisara Perera, Kasun Rajitha
Australia: David Warner (c), George Bailey, Scott Boland, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill (wk), Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa
