Match Preview – Australia vs Sri Lanka, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023/24, 14th Match

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Even in a tournament with nine group-stage matches, with room to go up a point or two, you don’t want to be down 0-3 early in the competition. But that is exactly the situation that Australia and Sri Lanka will have to face when they face off in Lucknow, in what is already shaping up to be a contest to maintain realistic semi-final hopes. It has been a tough start for both sides, but two points in this tie will revive belief that they can still challenge for the top four.

Australia’s struggle with World Cup pedigree is making headlines. They had a tough start to the tournament facing hosts India and a confident South Africa, but have been well off the pace in all three disciplines. Sri Lanka have managed to put runs on the board – over 300 against both South Africa and Pakistan – but their problem is that they have given away runs at an even higher rate: 98.2 overs in the two matches at a rate of 7.86 runs per over. 773 runs, also means a brilliant century by Kusal Mendis against pakistan Wasn’t enough.

their problems have worsened lost captain dasun shanaka Due to a tournament ending injury, meaning Mendis will now take over the captaincy. However, even though the sword is hanging on the bowlers, the spinners will fancy their chances of making an impact against the Australians.

In what was a completely un-Australian move, they made two changes after just one match. Cameron Green’s omission against South Africa was largely expected, but Alex Carey’s exclusion was a big talking point, despite his poor form. They are still competing with a 14-player squad, Travis Head has not yet rejoined the group, and Sean Abbott is the only one who has not yet rejoined the group.

Batting is becoming a concern as no one has reached a half-century yet – Australia currently have the lowest batting average of any team in the tournament at 18.80, and have failed to reach 200 in the first two matches. Has been.

In ODIs, the most recent meeting between these teams came in a five-match series in mid-2022, when Sri Lanka won 3-2,

form guide

(Last five matches, most recent first)

Australia LLWLL
Sri Lanka LLLWL

In the spotlight: Adam Zampa and Kusal Mendis

Australia have gambled by not replacing Ashton Agar with a similar player in their final squad, and while Glenn Maxwell has held up his end of the bargain with his part-time offspin, their problems have been compounded by a rare loss of form. For adam zampa, Since taking 4 for 48 in Bloemfontein, he has taken 7 for 430 with an economy of 7.41 in six matches. Zampa has struggled with minor injuries ahead of the tournament, while former captain Aaron Finch said he also has a hip problem, and is currently struggling to take wickets or keep the economy rate low.

“Don’t think he’s bowling as well as he has in the past,” Finch told ESPNcricinfo. “He’s got neck and shoulder problems. I know he’s got a bit of a hip injury at the moment. Whether that’s just affecting him a bit technically – legspin bowling is not my expertise – but he didn’t bowl at his best against ” India. But you are also bowling against the best players in the world. I think he bowled the first over and got two fours on it. One of them was a good ball – maybe it hit the top of the off stump – from KL (Rahu) – and it went past backward point for four. Then you are on the backfoot because four runs have been scored on your best ball. You sometimes start thinking about it too much and you can deviate from your No. 1 plan.’

on the flip side, Kusal Mendis Are in great form. If you include his practice innings against Afghanistan, he has scored 356 runs in his last three innings, including his 122 off 77 balls against Pakistan, which is his career best in ODIs. But the question will be whether he can maintain such a free-flowing nature with the added burden of captaincy, coupled with the extensive workload he has as a wicketkeeper. Mendis has a good ODI record against Australia with an average of 50.33 in 11 innings.

Team news: Australia likely to remain unchanged; Sri Lanka needs reinforcements

Australia is likely to remain unchanged, which means josh inglis The keeping gloves remain in place, but there is pressure on the three big pace players to step up their game and score early. There have been issues in the past with Marcus Stoinis playing back-to-back matches, but he only bowled two overs against South Africa, so this shouldn’t be an issue.

Australia (Probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins (c), 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood

Shanaka has been ruled out of the tournament, he has been replaced by Chamika Karunaratne, a explosive seam bowler and a powerful lower-order batsman who could come straight into the mix. According to the team manager, they may also have to be without fast bowler Mathisha Pathirana, who has a problem with his right shoulder and is “under observation”.

Sri Lanka (Probable): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Perera, 3 Kusal Mendis (captain, wk), 4 Sadira Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dhananjay de Silva, 7 Dunith Velez, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Mahish Theekshana, 10 Kasun Rajitha, 11 Dilshan Madushanka

pitch and conditions

As the match progressed, when Australia faced South Africa, the surface at the Ekana Stadium became tricky and it certainly became vulnerable to the fast bowlers in the second half. This can have an impact on what the captain who wins the toss decides to do. However, Pat Cummins and Shanaka, before his injury, had won both their tosses, did different things each time and saw their team lose on each occasion. Therefore, they may want to leave the decision to someone else. Meanwhile, it is going to be another hot day in Lucknow.

Statistics and General Knowledge

  • Sri Lanka has not defeated Australia in seven attempts in the ODI World Cup Since he claimed the title in 1996.

  • Australia have had barely half the chances in the first two matches: eight out of 14. This gives them the lowest catch percentage of all teams so far in this World Cup.

    • Citation

    “A lot of Australian teams, when they are put in a corner, they play their best cricket. We find ourselves in a corner at the start of this tournament, but we have to come out and perform really well against Sri Lanka. Will have to do, Lanka.”
    Michelle Marsh Hopefully Australia will strike back before it’s too late

    Andrew McGlashan is deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo

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