T20 World Cup 2022
This edition of the T20 world cup has already seen a few major upsets and one of them is West Indies which has gone out of the tournament so early not even qualified for the second round.
The fans of the cricketing world have witnessed the match of the T20 world cup. The greatest rivalry was at its peak when India played against Pakistan last Sunday 23 Oct in Melbourne in front of 90,000 fans.
Australia, the defending champion of the T20 World cup who won just 11 months ago have faced a huge defeat against their arch-rival, New Zealand. The defeat was such huge that their Net Run Rate is -4.4 which is going to make difference in the later stage of the tournament.
Australia now needs big wins, especially against lower-rated teams. Their match against England and Sri Lanka will be very critical.
Australia will be facing Sri Lanka today on 25th October and it will be a very significant match for Australia. Their morale will be down as they have been literally thrashed by the Kiwis. The management must be having an uphill task to boost the confidence back in the players.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka has won their first match against Ireland and are having a positive Net Run Rate. Sri Lanka is also a current Asia Cup Champion and has beaten India and Pakistan very recently.
Also, they have world-class spinners in form of Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and Dhananjaya de Silva. The spinners play a very important role in this T20 World cup as the Australian grounds are big and when the batters go for big hitting to the spinners, there is always a greater chance to fall a little short of the boundary and caught in deep.
We have seen teams adopting this strategy and are very successful in that.
On the other hand, Australia has only one good leg spinner that is Adam Zampa and he was also not spared from hitting in his last match against New Zealand.
Though the strong point of Australia is their pace attack and good and deep batting lineup. The pace battery comprises of Mitchel Starc, Pet Cummins, and Jos Hazelwood. The openers for Australia is one of the strongest in the tournament with left-hand and right-hand combination of David Warner and Aaron Finch. The Australians bat deep down the order till #10.
Australia may opt for the same team as they played against New Zealand unless there is some health or fitness issue with any of the players.
Australia is in a tough group where there is lots of competition and teams are strong such as New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka.
You never know if Afghanistan spoils someone’s party and that would be the worst situation if it happens to Australia.
Weather Conditions and Pitch
In Perth, there is a little probability of rain, although it won’t likely have a significant impact on cricket. As a new venue that also saw little cricket during the pandemic, Perth Stadium’s pitch has limited information about how it will perform. But it frequently serves as a boundary-pushing ground.
Sri Lankan Team
Pathum Nissanka and possibly Pramod Madushanka will both be added back to Sri Lanka’s starting lineup as they appear to have healed from minor injuries. As a result, Ashen Bandara and maybe Lahiru Kumara leave.
The likes of Pathum Nissanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and captain Dasun Shanaka must shine with the bat and Wannindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana should shine with the ball and play beyond their potential to win against the mighty Australians.
The confidence of the Sri Lankan team must be high as they have two good wins in this T20 World cup under their belt, so mental toughness is not going to be an issue. They just need to perform beyond their limits and give more than 100% to overcome the defending T20 world cup champion.
Probable Team of Sri Lanka:
1. Kusal Mendis (wk), 2. Pathum Nissanka, 3. Dhananjaya de Silva, 4. Charith Asalanka, 5. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 6. Dasun Shanaka, 7. Wanindu Hasaranga, 8. Chamika Karunaratne, 9. Maheesh Theekshana, 10. Pramod Madushan, 11. Binura Fernando/Lahiru Kumara
Probable Team of Australia
1. David Warner, 2. Aaron Finch (capt.), 3. Mitchell Marsh, 4. Glenn Maxwell, 5. Marcus Stoinis, 6. Tim David, 7. Matthew Wade (wk), 8. Pat Cummins, 9. Mitchell Starc, 10. Adam Zampa, 11. Josh Hazlewood
Also Read: ICC Men’s T20 World cup 2022 Schedule, Venues, Grounds, Teams, and probable players