Australia take on Sri Lanka in the second Twenty20 international of the three-match series at Kardinia Park in Geelong, which is hosting its first international fixture, on Sunday.
The hosts were beaten by five wickets in the opening match of the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. Despite posting 168 on the board helped by some poor fielding by Sri Lankans, the second-string Australian unit led by Aaron Finch ended up on the losing side after their inability to pick up regular wickets.
Despite their spinners picking up four of the five Sri Lankan wickets that fell on Friday, skipper Finch only got six overs of spin. While Adam Zampa got his full share of four overs, Ashton Turner got only two overs even after he snared two wickets and part-timer Travis Head was not used at all at MCG, where Lakshan Sandakan and Seekkuge Prasanna shone.
Finch will be looking to get more from his tweakers today at the batting-friendly Kardinia Park, where economical spells will make a massive difference. Also, the exclusion of big-hitting Ben Dunk, who finished as the top-scorer in the recently-concluded Big Bash League season with 364 runs from eight matches, was a surprising move. The Adelaide Strikers opener though is likely to make his way into the squad for today's match.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be hoping for more from their batsmen, especially their skipper Upul Tharanga, who was dismissed for 0 on Friday. Lasith Malinga, who picked up two crucial wickets on return from injury, will once again be the key in their bowling unit. Partnering with the likes of Sandakan and Prasanna, the veteran pacer will want to knock out the Australian batting unit, which will be without seniors David Warner and David Warner.
Team News
Australia
Possible XI: Finch (c), Klinger, Dunk, Head, Henriques, Paine (wk), Turner, Faulkner, Cummins, Zampa, Tye
Sri Lanka
Possible XI: Tharanga (c), Dickwella (wk), Munaweera, Gunaratne, Siriwardana, Kapugedara, Prasanna, Kulasekara, Sandakan, Sanjaya, Malinga
TV Schedule
Australia: Channel Nine
Singapore: Star Cricket
Malaysia: Astro Cricket
India: Star Sports
US: Willow TV
Middle East: OSN Sports
