Australia vs Sri Lanka, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Today Match Prediction 27 May 2019

aus vs srl Match Prediction & Analysis

Australia and Sri Lanka will play 7th Warm-up Match of ICC World Cup 2019 at The Rose Bowl ground in Southampton on Monday. Both the teams would like to have some momentum in their favor before the actual race starts. The Aussies won their first warm-up game versus strong opponent England by 12 runs. Australian team looks very daunting at this stage with the likes of Smith and Warner returning to the side. Australia will be looking maintain their consistency with the bat and the ball in this game.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka lost their first warm-up against South Africa by a huge margin of 87 runs. Hence, Sri Lanka will be looking for a clinical performance to get things on the track in their last warm-up match before the mega event. Both the teams may try their players from the bench and get their combinations right before the World Cup matches.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Australia Preview

The Australian team has a very strong batting lineup. Their top order batsman skipper Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, and Shaun Marsh are in great touch in the last year and would be keen to continue their impressive run. Aaron Finch had an amazing series against Pakistan. He scored 852 runs in last 21 innings at an average of 42.60 and Shaun Marsh made 851 runs in 18 innings at an average of 53.18. With both, experienced Warner and Smith returning to the side, the team would be looking to find the right balance and the batting order ahead of the big tournament.

Steve Smith was back in the groove on his return with a match-winning 116 runs knock in their first warm-up game against England and will be keen to continue his momentum. The all-rounder and explosive batsman Glen Maxwell was also good with both bat and ball in an unofficial warm match and he can turn any match on his own.

The bowling department will be lead by Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. Both were amongst the top wicket-takers in an unofficial warm-up game against West Indies. Pat Cummins has claimed 18 wickets in last 9 ODI innings. Also, fast bowlers have a better record in this ground as compared to the spinner. 

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

Aaron Finch(c), David Warner, Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey(w), Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Nathan Coulter-Nile

Sri Lanka Preview

Sri Lankan team have a lot of things to address in this game, they need to put up a more intense fight with bat and ball. On the batting friendly pitches in England, their batsman needs to put up a decent score on the board. The top order batsmen Kushal Perera, Kushal Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne need to take more responsibility and score big. Newly appointed skipper Dimuth Karunaratne was good against Africa in the second warm-up game. He has scored 87 runs and will be looking to lead his team from the front. Veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews also looked positive on other day and managed to score fifty. He is the most experienced batsman in the current Sri Lanka side and team will be looking for more contribution from him.

Another all-rounder Thisara Perera is in great form in the last year. He has scored 561 runs in last 20 innings at an average of 31.16 and also claimed 21 wickets in 18 innings. The fast bowling duo of Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep will lead the bowling attack. They need to be more accurate against strong batting lineup of Australia. Experienced Lasith Malinga is amongst the top wicket-takers in ODI for Sri Lanka in last year. He has claimed 21 wickets in last 14 innings. Certainly, the Sri Lankan team will need his experience to guide youngsters under pressure situation.

Sri Lanka Predicted Playing XI:

Dimuth Karunaratne (C), Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, IsuruUdana, ThisaraPerera, KusalPerera (WK), KusalMendis, Lasith Malinga, SurangaLsakmal, Nuwan Pradeep

Weather Conditions

The weather forecast for this game on Monday is mostly cloudy and a shower is expected in the afternoon time. The Rose Bowl ground in Southampton has witnessed high-scoring games in international. Southampton recently hosted an ODI between England and Pakistan, and the game saw 735 runs being scored in 100 overs.

Toss: To Bat

The numbers make it very clear about the nature of the strip of the venue.  Out of 22 ODIs at the ground, 12 were won by the team, batting first. So, the team would be looking to win the toss and bat first at this venue.