SL v AUS, 1st ODI Preview: Redemption on Australia‘s agenda

The first SL v AUS ODI will be played at the iconic and picturesque R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. After having been thrashed out of sight as the World number 1 ranked side, redemption will be on the minds of all the Aussie players when they take the field against somewhat of a new-look Sri Lanka side in the first ODI. The Lankans, on the other hand, will welcome back some of their best limited-overs’ players and will hope for a good showing in the ODI series as well.

Pitch Conditions

The wicket at the RPS Stadium is certainly no different from the ones all over Sri Lanka. Apart from the humidity, it will be clear that there will be an abundance of a turn on the dry surface. Dilruwan Perera, who has been retained from the Test side will be expected to make an impact while Adam Zampa, who missed out on the Test matches will also be licking his lips after witnessing the cracks on the surface.

Team Analysis

Sri Lanka

In spite of having whitewashed the Aussies 3-0 in the recently concluded Test series, it is clear that they cannot underestimate their opposition on the day. It is also common knowledge that when Australia is backed into a corner, they fight till the very end. Angelo Mathews will be hoping that he gets a positive response from his players for the same.

What will be important for Sri Lanka will certainly be the return of pacers Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal. What will impact the Lankan side more will be the presence of Tillakaratne Dilshan, the 40-year old player who is unwilling to give up his place in the side despite the retirement of the rest of his colleagues.

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Australia

Loss after loss after loss has seen Steve Smith’s men in somewhat of a precarious position. Of course, they have been at the receiving end of series defeats in Test matches. However, none of those defeats would certainly be as bad as this one. Thus, redemption and resurgence is something that will certainly be on the mind of Smith and the rest of his side as they take the Lankans on in a head-on collision.

As far as the side goes, the Aussies will be boosted by the return of Usman Khawaja and George Bailey in the grand scheme of things. However, the fact of the matter remains that they will have to work hard against a quality spin attack in spite of the absence of Rangana Herath on the side.

Playing XI (Probable)

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (C), Dinesh Chandimal (WK), Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thisara Perera, Dhanajaya de Silva, Dilruwan Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal

Australia: Steve Smith (C), Matthew Wade (WK), Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch, David Warner, George Bailey, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazelwood, Adam Zampa

Telecast on Ten 2

Match starts at 14:00 IST

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StAttack:

1. The last time Australia played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, they won one and lost one against Sri Lanka. Both matches were won by the side batting second.

2. Shaun Marsh requires 143 runs to complete 2000 runs One-Day international.

3. Mitchell Starc requires 2 wickets to complete 100 ODI wickets. If he does indeed accomplish this, he will become only the 16th Australian bowler to do so.

4. Dinesh Chandimal requires 203 runs to complete 3000 ODI runs.

5. The last time these two sides met was in the 2015 World Cup down under where Australia cruised to an easy win.