Image Credit- BCCI
You don’t want to start the competition with a 0-3
record, even in a competition with nine group-stage games that allows for one
or two mistakes. But as Australia and Sri Lanka square off in Lucknow in what
already appears to be a struggle to retain realistic semi-final hopes, one of
them will be forced to deal with that precise predicament. Both teams have had
a difficult start, but two points in this game will give them renewed hope that
they can still contend for the top four.
With their World Cup history, Australia’s difficulties
are making news. They faced the tournament’s hosts India and a self-assured
South Africa, who gave them a difficult start to the competition, but they have
lagged far behind in all three disciplines. Although Sri Lanka was able to
score runs—more than 300 against both South Africa and Pakistan—their issue has
been that they have given up runs at a rate that is even higher: 773 from 98.2
overs in two games at a rate of 7.86 runs per over, which means that even Kusal
Mendis’ brilliant century against Pakistan wasn’t enough.
They currently have Mendis serving as captain after
losing captain Dasun Shanaka to an injury that will prevent him from playing
the rest of the competition. Although the bowlers have been severely tested,
the spinners will be confident in their ability to make a difference against
the Australians.
They made two changes after just one game, which was a
very un-Australian decision. Although the exclusion of Alex Carey was a huge
talking point despite his inconsistent play, the exclusion of Cameron Green
against South Africa was mostly predicted. Only Sean Abbott hasn’t played yet,
thus they still have a 14-person team playing. Travis Head hasn’t yet joined
the team.
While Glenn Maxwell has kept his end of the bargain
with his part-time offspin, Australia gambled in their final roster by not
replacing Ashton Agar with a like-for-like player. Their troubles have been
made worse by Adam Zampa’s sporadic loss of form. He has claimed 7 for 430 in
six games with an economy of 7.41 since taking 4 for 48 in Bloemfontein. While
previous captain Aaron Finch revealed he too has a hip issue and is presently
having trouble taking wickets or keeping the economy rate low, Zampa battled
minor problems leading up to the event.
Kusal Mendis, on the other hand, is in outstanding
shape. His 122 off 77 balls against Pakistan was a career-best in ODIs, and he
has scored 356 runs in his previous three innings if you count his warm-up
innings against Afghanistan. It would be interesting to see if he can continue
to play with such a loose attitude while carrying the additional responsibility
of captaincy on top of his already heavy duty as the wicketkeeper. Mendis has a
solid one-day record of 11 innings at an average of 50.33 against Australia.