Sitting pretty in the top section of the points table, Australia will look to consolidate their favourable position when they take on lowly Sri Lanka in Match 20 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in London on Saturday, 15 June 2019.
The Oval, London
2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, Match 20
Saturday, 15 June; 10:30am local, 09:30am GMT
With three wins from four matches, Australia increasingly looks like strong contenders for a spot in the final four, but these are still early days and they will want to keep the foot on the pedal when they take on Sri Lanka at the Oval to build on that early advantage.
The good thing for Australia is that they’ve managed to win most of their games despite, seemingly, not hitting maximum potential. But the good news for them is that pieces have begun falling in place.
Sri Lanka has been one of the unlucky sides in the 2019 World Cup as two out of their four matches were abandoned due to rain. Though Dimuth Karunartne and Co are languishing at the fifth spot on the points table with four points, their Net Run Rate of -1.517 isn’t in the greatest of shapes by any means. Their next match is versus the Aaron Finch-captained Australia on June 15 at the Kennington Oval in London.
Back in the warm-ups, the Aussies defeated the Lankans comfortably. The Men in Yellow have garnered three wins and are placed second in the table. In the World Cup, the Lankans have beaten the Aussies only once back in 1996, losing seven games. Therefore, it’s not much of a surprise that Australia is the firm favourite for the encounter. Meanwhile, another loss will put Sri Lanka’s campaign in the doldrums.
Sri Lanka
The Lankans may bring fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep in the eleven. Prior to the game versus Bangladesh, he developed a cut and dislocation on his finger from the bowling arm and was ruled out of the game. But before the next match, he has returned to the nets and also bowled for around 25 minutes. A call on his availability for the game will be taken on Friday.
Lasith Malinga is also back after attending his mother-in-law’s funeral. In the bowling department, Suranga Lakmal will wish to make amends after going wicketless in the first two games. The likes of Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Angelo Mathews need to find their rhythm as well. Kusal Perera and Karunaratne’s role will be critical if the Lankans are to put up a good score.
Australia
The Aussies may not make any changes to their playing eleven. Marcus Stoinis has a side strain and there’s a doubt on his return. It means Shaun Marsh is likely to be persisted with. Kane Richardson may have to make way for Adam Zampa bearing in mind the nature of the pitch. Aaron Finch and David Warner firing together is definitely an ominous sign for the opposition.
Steve Smith will want to make amends after a rare failure versus Pakistan. It’ll also be interesting to see where Khawaja and Marsh bat. Glenn Maxwell has looked threatening but is yet to get a big score. Nathan Coulter-Nile also seemed to find his touch. The Aussies will again depend on Mitchell Starc and the ever-so-reliable Pat Cummins to get the early breakthroughs.
Probable Top Performer
Angelo Mathews – Sri Lanka | David Warner – Australia
Australia (From): Aaron Finch(c), David Warner, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey(w), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Behrendorff, Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon.
Sri Lanka (From): Dimuth Karunaratne(c), Kusal Perera(w), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Milinda Siriwardana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Avishka Fernando
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