🏏ICC Men's T20I WC 2022: Super 12 - Group 1 - AUS vs SL - 25/10/22🏏

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Super 12 - Group 1

Australia vs New Zealand on 25/10/2022 at 4:30 PM IST at Perth Stadium, Perth

Pressure on Australia to bounce back with (big) win after their NRR takes a tumble

On paper, Sri Lanka have the better spinners, but they will need some stars to align if they are to upset the hosts

Is it possible? Are Sri Lanka in a better place going into this match than defending champions Australia?

You could make a case, but not really. It's complicated. Australia were beaten so profoundly by New Zealand in their tournament opener, their NRR has plummeted to a truly appalling -4.45. Sri Lanka, having thrashed Ireland first up, have a NRR of 2.467.

NRRs only come into play if teams are on equal points ahead of the semi-finals. But you're aiming to be the two best sides in a six-team group. Competition is fierce. And NRRs will weigh on teams' minds. Sides as far back as Australia, who ordinarily are expected to beat Sri Lanka on home tracks, have that little extra inkling of pressure upon them. They don't just want to beat Sri Lanka; they want to win big.

Sri Lanka will be content with just winning. In Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and Dhananjaya de Silva, they have better spinners than Australia. But on paper, Sri Lanka don't win a lot of battles. They don't have a pace attack of the quality of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood. And while Kusal Mendis looks as if he is working himself up to serious form, Sri Lanka's middle order did not put up serious numbers in the qualifiers. They are heavily dependent on those 8-12 overs of spin.

If an upset is to happen here, some stars will need to align. The likes of Dasun Shanaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa may have to produce the kinds of innings they did in the recent Asia Cup, which Sri Lanka won. Sri Lanka's inexperienced seamers will need to perform beyond expectation also.

Weather Forecast:

According to weather reports, the temperature of Melbourne city of Australia on October 25 (Tuesday) will be 21° Celcius during the day and fall to 10° Celcius at night. The sky will be cloudy during the day and partly cloudy at night.

The chances of rain are about 14% during the day and 10% at night. The humidity will be 63% during the day and rise to 84% at night. The Perth Stadium in Perth, Australia is an average-scoring ground in T20Is. The average 1st innings total at the stadium in T20Is is 142 while the average 2nd innings total is 140.

Australia vs Sri Lanka Pitch Report:

The pitch at the Perth Stadium looks good for batting. The ball comes nicely onto the bat and the batters can play their strokes freely right from the start of their innings. The bowlers will have to be on their toes while bowling on this surface.

The stadium has hosted 3 T20I games so far and once, England slammed 208/6 at the stadium. In the previous game at the stadium, England bowled out Afghanistan at just 112. Later, they chased down the target within 19 overs.

At the moment looks like a one way game but you never know with Sri Lanka.. they can upset big teams also on their day. May the best team WIN.

Just saw the highlights for South Africa vs Zimbabwe where Rain played spoil sport. Feeling bad for South Africa.. they almost had Zimbabwe but had to share points. That leaves them at a disadvantage compared to Pakistan and India.

Cheers.

Thanks for the tag, Raji!

Looking forward to see how will Aus bounce back from last match!

Australia

The Aussies got off to a losing start but expect them to back the same XI that featured against New Zealand on Saturday.

Probable XI

Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Sri Lanka

Pathum Nissanka missed out in the last game due to an injury. Expect him to walk back into the side if he gets fit for their game against Australia.

Probable XI

Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Ashen Bandara/Pathum Nissanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Lahiru Kumara

Recent Venue Records (Perth Stadium, Perth)

Stats- T20Is

Total matches- 3

Matches won batting first- 1

Matches won bowling first- 2

Average 1st Inns scores- 142

Average 2nd Inns scores- 140

Highest total recorded- 208/6 (20 Ov) by ENG vs AUS

Lowest total recorded- 112/10 (19.4 Ov) by AFG vs ENG

Highest score chased- 113/5 (18.1 Ov) by ENG vs AFG

Lowest score defended- 208/6 (20 Ov) by ENG vs AUS

I m supporting SL.

Did you know?

- Sri Lanka's openers, between them, have scored seven half-centuries in the last nine T20Is and have been key in their side winning eight of those matches

- Australia had won 13 successive T20Is since the start of last World Cup but in their last four chases they have lost three with one ending in a no result

- Since the last week of September, Australia have featured in six series across formats including the T20 World Cup

In the spotlight

Australia's openers are their top-scorers this year, which isn't particularly surprising. However, they have hurt Sri Lanka many times before, and will be confident of taking down the opposition's novice seam attack. Aaron Finch has three fifties and strikes at 136 against Sri Lanka. David Warner has monstered Sri Lanka in the past, hitting six fifties and a hundred. His 642 runs against them is his highest against any opposition, and he has scored those runs at a strike rate of 141. Sri Lanka will probably need them out early to make a game of this.

Although Wanindu Hasaranga gets a lot of headlines, Maheesh Theekshana has been building himself quite the record too. After 28 T20Is, he has 29 wickets, and an impressive economy rate of 6.42 when you consider he often bowls at least one over in the powerplay. In the absence of Sri Lanka's go-to death bowler in Dushmantha Chameera, Theekshana will likely have to bowl towards the end of an innings too. So far, he's done the job nicely. He's got seven wickets, and maintained an economy rate of 5.86 so far in this tournament.