T20 World Cup 2022: Match 19 - Predicted Australia Playing XI vs Sri Lanka

Everything went wrong for the hosts Australia as they squared off against New Zealand that marked their first match of the Super 12 in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. New Zealand annihilated the Aussies and completed their redemption as they lost to the latter in 2021 T20 World Cup final.

New Zealand's 89-run win in the opening game has straightaway put Aaron Finch-led Australia in the backfoot with a negative net run rate of 4.450, as they are placed at the bottom of the Group 1 table. However, it was only the first match and Australia are known to make comebacks from out of nowhere. The defending champions cannot be written off just yet as they now lock horns with Asia Cup 2022 winners, Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka are coming off from a dominating win over Ireland in the first fixture of their Super 12 campaign. However, the Aussies come into this fixture as the favourites despite losing against the Black Caps.

Let’s look at Australia’s probable playing XI against Sri Lanka:

Openers: David Warner, Aaron Finch (c)

David Warner was in disbelief after his dismissal against the Kiwis. Despite scoring five off just six balls in the first match and luck not favouring the left-hander, Warner will be keen to hit the ground running and play some explosive innings against the Lankan Lions.

Skipper Aaron Finch’s natural game is his aggressive play and ability to finish matches, however, the batter has not been consistent enough and his brief cameos have not instilled confidence in recent times. The right-hander has got a chance to redeem himself against the Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lanka.

Middle-order and all-rounders: Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, and Tim David

The wicketkeeper-batter would join in the middle-order and can smack a few out of the park with his aggressive batting. Wade can be relied upon to get the scores to a competitive level and shift momentum to his team’s side at any given point. Meanwhile, Marsh will need to push with the willow to help his side pick momentum in the marquee tournament. Australia will need him to contribute more consistently and not just with the bat but with the ball too.

Assuming the top order batters build a solid foundation while batting, Maxwell and Stoinis can both come down the order and help get those big runs on the board that can make matters worse for the rival teams.  While many fans would hope for Steve Smith to play in place of Tim David, skipper Finch could still count on the lad and give him another opportunity. David is capable of hitting the big shots and can do wonders with the ball for his side. 

Bowlers: Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

The bowling department was just as poor as the batting performance projected against the Kiwis and they will all aim to quickly turn things around in their title defence. Mitchell Starc was touted to be their main man in the line up to deck the Black Caps batters, however, right from the very first moment, Starc consistently gave away a lot of runs. He will look to use his brute pace to rip apart the Lankan Lions and dismantle the line up.

Pat Cummins has become the national side’s shining light in a cricketing sense in recent times. He was most expensive as he leaked 46 runs in his four overs against New Zealand. But he will look to exploit the conditions to his advantage and get the better out of the Sri Lankans.

The only out and out spinner of the squad, Adam Zampa who relished an impressive outing in the previous year’s edition has not clicked for the Aussies yet. The Australian track appears to be working against him but he will look to more flight into his deliveries and bamboozle the batters. He is doubtdul for the game after showing Covid symptoms. In case of his unavailability, Australia are likely to include Ashton Agar.

Hazlewood had the second-worst figures in the match against the Kiwis as he recorded 41 runs in his four overs, albeit he picked up two wickets. The Aussies will require a strong show from the bowling line up to hand them confidence in the match against Sri Lanka.

Australia predicted XI against Sri Lanka: David Warner, Aaron Finch(c), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(wk), Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa/Ashton Agar