Australia vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test: Fantain Fantasy Cricket, Playing XI Updates and Fantasy Cricket Tips

Australia dominated Sri Lanka at the Gabba to take the lead in this two-match Test series. The tourists posed very few threats to the hosts and succumbed to their renewed pace battery. As the bandwagon chugs along to Canberra for the final Test, the Aussies look poised to claim the series and usher in smiles in the dressing room after what has been a forgettable summer for them thus far.

Venue

• Manuka Oval, Canberra
• The venue has predominantly hosted T20 and ODI games. It will therefore, be difficult to call out the behaviour of the track for a Test match. That said, initial reports hint towards a lively track and the hosts would be itching to get the Sri Lankans hopping about.

Likely Playing XI –

Australia

Marcus Harris, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Kurtis Patterson/ Marcus Stoinis, Tim Paine (C&WK), Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon.

Australia isn’t expected to chop and change too much. Marnus Labuschagne will bat at number four. Note that Matt Renshaw has been released to play the Big Bash fixture for Brisbane Heat and Joe Burns will open with Marcus Harris.

Also, Marcus Stoinis is in the squad and his batting abilities will come in handy. Should he get roped in to play, Patterson will miss out.

Sri Lanka

Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal (C), Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (WK), Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha and V Fernando.

Dimuth Karunaratne, Mendis and Chandimal will have to step up a notch if Sri Lanka has to put up the totals needed to trouble Australia. In the bowling department, note that Chameera and Kumara have been sidelined with injuries. This leaves the tourists with no other choice and therefore, they are compelled to get Fernando and Ranjitha to pair up with Suranga Lakmal.

Hot Picks

Niroshan Dickwella, the Sri Lankan stumper is a live-wire with the bat and threw his willow around to good effect in the 1^st He could earn valuable Fantain points for you as you can almost be assured that the tourists will bat twice

Travis Head, Usman Khawaja and Marcus Harris have looked good and have gotten starts all summer long. Expect any of them to produce a big score here

Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunarathne hold the biggest promise for Sri Lanka. They lend solidity to their batting order, so you could pick them from the available Sri Lankan batting options

The Australian bowlers will be very hard to resist when picking your bowlers. Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Stac and Richardson could be valuable players for your XI. From the Sri Lankan outfit, Suranga Lakmal would be a good bet.

Fantain Fantasy XI

Mitchell Starc               – Bowler           – 9

J Richardson                 – Bowler           – 7

N Lyon                         – Bowler           – 9

S Lakmal (VC)                – Bowler           – 9

D Karunaratne              – Batsman         – 9

T Head                         – Batsman         – 9

U Khawaja                    – Batsman         – 10

M Harris                       – Batsman         -9

D Perera                       – All-Rounder    – 9

Pat Cummins ( C )          – All-Rounder    – 10

N Dickwella                  – Wk-Keeper     – 9

This is our Fantain Fantasy XI but you’re the real expert.

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