Australia vs Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka tour of Australia 2019, Today Match Prediction 01 Feb 2019

aus vs srl Match Prediction & Analysis

Hosts Australia will be aiming for a clean sweep when they take on Sri Lanka in the second Test of the series in Canberra on Friday.

Australia Skipper Tim Paine will be pleased with his side’s terrific performance in the day-night Test at The Gabba in Brisbane. He will be hoping that side can deliver the goods with the bat and ball to win the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka looks completely out of sorts at the moment in the five-day format. Captain Dinesh Chandimal will need to something or else he could lose his job as the Test captain of the national side. The odds are heavily stacked against Sri Lanka as they last win came in the format in June 2018.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Australia Preview

The home side will be hoping that they can maintain their consistency with the bat. Opener Marcus Harris has got off to promising starts throughout this summer but hasn’t been able to produce a big score for Australia.

Left-handed batsman will be looking to put in a big score in order to cement his place in the XI. Joe Burns will get another opportunity to showcase his skills as an opener but failed to deliver in Brisbane. He will need to produce a score in this game for Australia.

Usman Khuwaja has gone through a lean run through the start of home season. He has managed to score only 209 runs at an average of 26.12. Left-hander will need to dig deep in order to end his bad run of form in the Test arena.

Marnus Labuschagne certainly delivered with the big score for Australia. His innings of 81 runs certainly helped Australia post a decent total in their first innings.  Labuschagne showed excellent temperament and technique against Sri Lanka. He will need to continue his form in the final game at Manuka Oval.

Travis Head also came good with the bat and scored 84 off 187 balls with the help of ten boundaries. He put on a 166-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne to help Australia post 323 runs in the day-night game in Brisbane. Debutant Kurtis Patterson also looked good at the crease and will be keen to make an impression with the bat in this game.

In the bowling department, Pace bowler Pat Cummins delivered a majestic performance and picked up 10 wickets in the game played in Brisbane. Since the start of the home season, Cummins has picked up 24 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 18.79. Debutant Jhye Richardson also delivered an impression in his first game for Australia in the format. He bowled probing spells with new and old ball and finished with five wickets in the match.

Nathan Lyon has been excellent for Australia over the last couple of years. The only concern for Australia in the bowling department is the loss of form of Mitchell Starc, who has not been able to deliver breakthroughs with the new-ball.

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

Tim Paine (c), Joe Burns, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Kurtis Patterson, Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khuwaja, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Jhye Richardson, Peter Siddle/Mitchell Starc.

Australia Actual Playing XI:

Tim Paine, Marcus Harris, Pat Cummins, Marnus Labuschagne, TM Head, Mitchell Starc, Joe Burns , Jhye Richardson, Usman Khawaja, Kurtis Patterson, Nathan Lyon

Sri Lanka Preview

On the other hand, Sri Lanka looked completely out of sorts in conditions that had plenty of assistance for the quick bowlers. Dinesh Chandimal-led unit will need to deliver a much improved performance with the bat in this game.

In the batting department, the visitors will be depending on the likes of Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis to score runs in this game. The batting trio failed to deliver with the bat in the day-night Test in Brisbane. Sri Lanka will be hoping that the experienced players can put in decent scores in this game.

Skipper Dinesh Chandimal will need to lead from the front with the bat in order to gain confidence ahead of Test series in South Africa that will begin from 13th February. 

Wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella was the only player in the batting lineup, who showed positive intent against Australian pace-attack. He scored 64 runs in the first innings and played his shots against the likes of Starc and Cummins.

In the bowling department, medium-pacer Suranga Lakmal swung the new-ball and picked up 5 wickets in the game. Kasun Rajitha and Vishwa Fernando might replace Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera, who have been sidelined after picking up injuries in the day-night game played in Brisbane.

Sri Lanka Predicted Playing XI:

Dinesh Chandimal (c), Niroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Thiramanne, Kusal Mendis, Roshen Silva, Dhananjaya de Silva, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Dimuth Karunaratne.

Sri Lanka Actual Playing XI:

Niroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, Kasun Rajitha, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis , Vishwa Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne, Chamika Karunaratne

Weather Conditions

The pitch prepared for the game is expected to a belter with the plenty of runs for the batsmen. The curator at Manuka Oval has predicted that the game will certainly last five days. The weather forecast for the game on Friday is expected to be sunny.

Venue

The Manuka Oval in Canberra is all set to become the 11th venue to host a Test match in Australia.  Nine one-day games have been played at the venue. Australia is set to play their first Test match at Manuka Oval.

Toss: To Bat

Both the teams would be looking to bat first on this wicket. It might assist the spinners in the later stages of the game.