First look: Karunaratne will look to impress on his first outing this WC, having replaced Shanaka.
| Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA
Australia, a pre-tournament favourite, and Sri Lanka, which often punches above its weight, will be desperate to open their World Cup 2023 account at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Monday.
Both sides are coming off two successive defeats, one against South Africa each, and find themselves on the wrong side of history.
While Sri Lanka conceded the highest total against the Proteas in its opener, it saw Pakistan pull off the highest successful chase in the tournament’s history in the following game. Australia, meanwhile, faced its heaviest World Cup defeat against South Africa in its previous match here and has kick-started a World Cup campaign with two losses for the first time since 1992.
The troubles don’t seem to end for the Lankans as their skipper Dasun Shanaka has been ruled out indefinitely due to a right thigh muscle injury with Kusal Mendis, in red-hot form, taking over from him.
The Australians have witnessed their middle-order collapse against India and South Africa and are yet to breach the 200-run mark, while the Lankan bowlers are smarting a battering of over 770 runs in just under 100 overs across two games.
In the middle-overs with the ball, both teams have lacked penetration and allowed the opposition to wrest the initiative after being economical in the first PowerPlay.
Crucial phase
With conditions likely to assist swing and seam movement while the ball is new, a lot will hinge on how the first 10 overs pan out.
Sri Lanka’s batting, shepherded by Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, has variety but will have its task cut out against the trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, who have shone in patches.
Australia, on the other hand, will quickly need to give role clarity to its pantheon of all-rounders, which is yet to deliver, and will bank on Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to build on their starts and counter Sri Lanka’s spin pack, led by Maheesh Theekshana.
