Australia looking to bounce back from opening loss ahead of Champions Trophy
A patched together Australia side were no match for Sri Lanka as they lost the opening game of the two-game series by 49 runs on Wednesday. With just one game to go before Australia head to the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, they will hope to put up a better show on when they reconvene at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium on Friday.
In total there have been 151 ODIs played at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium, a venue that is traditionally quite low scoring. The par first innings score for the venue is a modest 240 – although the highest ever score at the venue was 375 for five, made by India against Sri Lanka in 2017.
The venue suits quicks and spinners equally with each form of bowling averaging at between 31 and 32 per wicket.
Despite not heading to the Champions Trophy, Sri Lanka are one of the most in form ODI teams at eth moment. They have played more ODIs than any other team since the last World Cup (where they did very poorly). They head into Friday’s game in better ODI form than Australia. Sri Lanka have won six and lost three of their last ten ODI’s (there was a no result as well), while Australia have lost five and won five of their last ten.
Australia have now lost four of the last six ODI’s they have played against Sri Lanka. Of those six games, four have been played at the Premadasa Stadium and three of them have ended as reversals for the men from Down Under.
Sri Lanka have not looked to use this two-match series as an opportunity to blood new players. They have named the same squad that did duty in New Zealand at the start of the year – with only allrounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe sitting out and they looked good in the first game. If Australia want to head-to-head to Pakistan with some degree of momentum they will need to decide on combinations and show a greater degree of application.
Sri Lanka v Australia | 2nd ODI | Friday 14 February 2025 | Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | 06:30am
Sri Lanka
Maheesh Theekshana is the second ranked ODI bowler in the world at the moment and he showed why as he returned figures of four for 40 in the opening game – the best by any bowler.
When Charith Asalanka came to the wicket his side were in desperate trouble at 30 for three. While wickets kept tumbling around him, by the time he left for an excellent 127 from 126 balls, Sri Lanka were on 214 – a score they were able to defend comfortably. Asalanka is the 16th ranked ODI batsman in the world with an average over 40. He is also a man in form – across all formats he has over 50 twice and over a hundred twice in each of his last four knocks (127, 128, 66, 74). Expect more from him on Friday.
Asitha Fernando has taken at least one wicket in each of his last three ODI’s (six wicket in total). He was key to the excellent start of Sri Lanka’s defence, taking a wicket in each of his first two overs. A return of two for 23 from five overs was outstanding and he will want to repeat his efforts again in the second game.
Keep a look out for allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga who has a highest ODI score of 80* and a bowling average of 25.51. He is Sri Lanka’s second ranked ODI bowler, and he has game-changing ability with both the bat and ball. He comes into the game just four wickets shy of 100 wickets in ODIs. He is ranked 13th on the ICC’s list of top ODI allrounders.
Australia
Australia went into Wednesday’s encounter without a host of their regular stars. There was no Travis Head or Mitchell Starc who were there and available. Injured bowlers like Josh Hazelwood, Pat Cummins and Mitch Marsh were also absent. Despite going with a very depleted bowling attack, it wasn’t in this area that the Baggy Greens underwhelmed. They dismissed Sri Lanka for a modest 214 runs with four over still to be bowled.
It was with the bat that Australia failed to impress. A side that included Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey in the middle order and which featured Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short as the openers, should have done a lot better than 165 all out in 35 overs.
Expect Australia to field a side closer to the eleven that is likely to start in Pakistan. Travis Head is likely to return to the top of the order while Glenn Maxwell should also feature. the jury is out on Mitchell Starc who put in a big shift during the Test series and looked in need of a rest – but he is Australia’s premier attacking bowler and if winning is important for Steve Smith’s side, they may well look to get him back into action.
Marnus Labuschagne struggled for runs in the Tests. He is still Australia’s third highest ranked ODI batsman, but he will want to get the runs flowing before jetting off to Pakistan and the Champions Trophy. He managed just 15 in the opening ODI and has failed to score much in any of the recent internationals in which he has featured. In his last six international innings in all formats, he has produced knocks of 15, 4, 26, 20, 2 and 6. He is due a score.
Alex Carey is a man in form with the bat. He was Australia’s top scorer in the 1st ODI with 41, while in the Test series that went before it, he scored 156 and 46. Expect more clean hitting from him on Friday.
Steve Smith was bowled for 15 in the first ODI, but he’s a man in form and a captain who doesn’t like to fail. Expect him to lead the way with the bat in the second game. He is a good bet to be the games top scorer.
Verdict: Australia
This will be a chastened Australia with a lot to prove. It won’t be easy but expect them to up their game second time round as they go in search of some sort of momentum ahead of the Champions Trophy.
