On Sunday (27th October), the hosts Australia and the visitors Sri Lanka will begin the three-match T20I series. They will play the opening game of the three-match T20I series at Adelaide Oval (Adelaide).
In 13 T20I meetings, Australia have won five matches and Sri Lanka have won the other eight games. However, Sri Lanka have dominated in the T20I against the hosts Australia. Sri Lanka have beaten Australia in Australia in five encounters out of six T20Is.
At present, Australia are the no.5-ranked T20I side and Sri Lanka are the no.7-ranked T20I side.
Australia are desperate to take their home advantage
It will be the first T20I for Australia after the Bengaluru T20I against India on 27th February 2019. Australia won that two-match T20I series by 2-0.
The hosts Australia will try to improve their T20I records against Sri Lanka in this series. It can be also said that Australia will start their preparation for the next World T20 through this series as the ICC Men’s World T20 2020 is less than one year away to begin.
Ahead of the opening T20I, Australia has already lost one of the top T20I pacers Andrew Tye due to elbow injury. However, the hosts have enough T20I players in the squad. Now, they have to prove themselves as a strong consistent T20I side against the other competitive sides.
Lasith Malinga-led Sri Lanka are looking to create more memory
After recently the inexperienced Sri Lankan team thrashed the hosts Pakistan in the three-match T20I series, Sri Lankan team is ready to start this away T20I series with huge confidence.
The T20I captain Lasith Malinga has returned along with some other top cricketers who didn’t participate in the T20I series in Pakistan. It will be Malinga’s first professional match after his T20I hat-trick against New Zealand at Pallekele. In that game, Malinga took four wickets in four successive deliveries.
Along with Oshada Fernando’s T20I debutant knock, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Danushka Gunathilaka also shined with the bat in the T20I series against Pakistan.
Meanwhile, in that same series, Wanindu Hasaranga, Nuwan Pradeep and Isuru Udana shined with the ball in hand. The leg-spinner Hasaranga won the Player of the Series award in the T20I series in Pakistan after taking eight wickets. Also, the right-arm pacer Pradeep, left-arm pacer Udana scalped seven and five wickets respectively in that series.
The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has mostly maintained the T20I squad of the last away series against Pakistan. Only some experienced and crucial players have joined in the T20I squad to raise the value of the team by using their experiences.