 Australia take on Sri Lanka in the sixth game of the CB series at the Sydney
Cricket Ground on Friday.
The revival of the Australian triangular series has surely been a pleasant one
so far with exciting cricket on display, as the teams battle it out in the race
to be the top two teams.
Click for Live Score Card of Australia Vs Sri Lanka
Two back-to-back close finishes have further highlighted the quality of cricket
on offer. Australia and Sri Lanka, after being involved in last-over
finishes against India, face each other on Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia were edged out by MS Dhoni's calmness in the final over. Their first
defeat of the tournament has now left them in second place with four points. Given
the long duration of the league stage, the rotation policy continues to be adopted
by the National Selection Panel (NSP).
Brett Lee makes a comeback to the squad at the expense of Ryan Harris
while Ben Hilfenhaus has also been inducted to beef up the pace options. It
will be interesting to see how Brett Lee goes about his business in the game,
given how well he bowls in the shorter format of the game.
Yet the biggest blow has come through injury to regular captain Michael Clarke. In his absence, Ricky Ponting will lead the side. David Warner,
the vice-captain, has expressed no regrets at not being elevated to the role
of captain.
Sri Lanka earned their first point of the series, though they would have liked
a win instead of a tie. They would also know that they can only blame themselves
for the results as they wasted genuine opportunities to make a striking impact.
The batting efforts of Dinesh Chandimal and Mahela Jayawardene were not
exploited upon by the rest of the batsmen. While Chandimal has been impressive,
the rest of the batting has looked fragile. If Sri Lanka hope to qualify for
the best-of-three finals, they would ideally like to register a win here so
as to not be left too far behind on the points table.
The day/night fixture will be played in Sydney which traditionally suits slow
bowlers. Sri Lanka, given their reserves, should be expected to make the most
of the conditions.
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