SL v AUS, 1st T20I Preview: Sri Lanka aim to win Dilshan's farewell series

Australia unveiled themselves in the ODI series after a humiliating 3-0 in the Test series against the hosts, with a 4-1 victory which ended on Sunday. David Warner led Australia will be looking forward to continuing their winning run and transform their 50-over form to the shortest format of the game.

On the other hand for Sri Lanka, this is the farewell series for their opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan, who announced his retirement after their win in the second ODI match of the series. With their regular skipper, Angelo Mathews sidelined due to a calf injury, the stand-in skipper Dinesh Chandimal and his men need to play out of their skin to beat the charged Aussies.

Pitch Conditions:

The wicket at Pallekele is expected to be the similar one used for the ODI series as well. Turn will be on offer for the spinners and they will enjoy rolling their arm over. With quite a few matches played at the venue, the pitch had deteriorated enough, so that the ball might evern turn from the very first over.

Team Analysis:

Sri Lanka:

Sri Lanka has struggled in this format in the recent past being ranked No. 8 and will be desperate to do well to give Dilshan a fitting farewell. He is a naturally aggressive batsman and is expected to give a flying start for the hosts.

The hosts are also making quite a lot of changes to their squad. Thisara Perera, the attacking all-rounder will have a big role in the match with the ball up front as with some handy blows down the order. Sachithra Senanayake has been called back to the side, who is quite tricky in this format of the game.

The onus will be on Kusal Mendis and skipper Chandimal to fire with the bat while their unlimited supply of spinners will be expected to gain turn and bounce at Pallekele. Chandimal can play the role of the anchor while others should be well prepared to bat around him.

Australia:

Despite considering the format of the game, one can easily say that the most valuable player for Australia would be Mitchell Starc with the ball, who has been absolutely crucial in giving them a break-through very early in the innings. The wily leg-spinner Adam Zampa would enjoy bowling at Pallekele the most. With the batsmen coming hard at the leg-spinner in this format of the game, he is the one who is expected to succeed more often than not.

George Bailey, the highest run-getter in the ODI series with 270 runs at an average of 67.50 is getting an opportunity to showcase his capabilities in the T20Is. Warner at the top will be looking to give a quick start to the innings as the middle-order can consolidate and built on it. Matthew Wade has successfully countered the sluggish Sri Lankan pitches in the ODIs and is expected to continue his good work with the bat and behind the stumps.

Probable XI-

Sri Lanka:

Dinesh Chandimal (C), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamara Kapugedara, Milinda Siriwardana, Kusal Mendis, Seekkuge Prasanna, Sachithra Senanayake/Sachith Pathirana, Suranga Lakmal, Thisara Perera.

Australia:

David Warner (C), George Bailey, Scott Boland, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade (wk), Adam Zampa.

Match starts at 19:00 IST

Telecast on Ten network

StAttack:

1. George Bailey needs 30 runs to complete 500 T20 international runs.

2. Dilshan needs 116 runs to complete 2000 runs in T20Is.