 Australia head into their second match of the Commonwealth Bank series - against
Sri Lanka - as heavy favorites when the two sides clash on Friday. Both sides
played their first match against India, with Sri Lanka losing theirs while Australia
winning.
Click for Live Score Card of Australia Vs Sri Lanka
Australia overcame India in a rain-shortened encounter, registering a 65-run win.
Their squad comprises a blend of young and old players, and will be pleasantly
surprised by Matthew Wade's performance opening the innings.
He stroked a half century while the Hussey brothers were also amongst the runs. Ricky Ponting, though, would be feeling the pressure as, after every
failure, the calls for his exit grow louder.
Clint McKay and Mitchell Starc's pace troubled the Indian batsmen and the Lankans
should not expect anything different either. With Brett Lee ruled out
due to injury, the pacers will look to maximize the opportunity they have.
Sri Lanka have had a torrid run since the World Cup, and things did not seem to
improve much in their outing against India.
Lacking in confidence, the side failed to seal the crucial moments as opportunities
went by. After a good start, they lost wickets at regular intervals and were
restricted to 233. The senior batsmen will look to take more responsibility
as captain Mahela Jayawardene looks to bring back the winning ways.
But to do so, he will have to show some astute captaincy as well, as his strike
bowler Lasith Malinga failed to break through at key moments during the
game, partly due to inexplicable field set. Angelo Mathews picked up two wickets
and will look for more support from his fellow bowlers.
The match will be played at WACA, Perth where Sri Lanka have won only two of the
16 ODIs played. It remains an uphill task for their troubled side to overcome
the Australian challenge.
Things will get only worse for the Sri Lankan side if they go down in this
game and despite there being a chance to comeback in this tournament where there
are three more rounds of matches to go, Sri Lanka will be fighting against
it very early in the tournament.
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