Litmus test for Sri Lanka today after two easy wins

Kusal Perera (left) and Kamil Mishara during practice at Pallekele

Marcus Stoinis addresses the media

Matheesha Pathirana slings one down 

• Take on undermanned Australia at Pallekele

Having got through their first two matches in Group B without much difficulty, co-hosts Sri Lanka face a litmus test when they play Australia, one of two heavyweight teams in the group with Zimbabwe, at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium today.

Sri Lanka know a win here would ensure them a place in the next stage of the T20 World Cup the Super 8, whereas for Australia who lost their last game to Zimbabwe, it’s a must win contest as they face an early group exit if they lose.

Australia sans some of their key players due to injuries are not at full strength. But this is where they are at their most dangerous, when the odds are stacked against them.

“Looking down our list, honestly, it feels like there’s more than enough talent there to look after the situations in the games that we’re playing,” said Marcus Stoinis at the pre-match press conference. “It’s just about, as much as we can talk about team line-up and who’s in who’s out and that sort of thing I think if everyone just looks after their role it should help us in good stead.”

Sri Lanka certainly have the batting power to exploit Australia’s weak bowling attack as they showed against Oman the other day with the middle order firing – Kusal Mendis, Pavan Rathnayake, and skipper Dasun Shanaka all getting half-centuries.

Sri Lanka has a couple of matters to contemplate on – whether they need to continue with Kamil Mishara, whose last five T20I innings has produced scores of 16, 36, 0, 14 and 8, and stick to Dushan Hemantha, whose four overs against Oman cost 45 runs. Despite his run of low scores, Mishara has been an asset to Sri Lanka on the field, saving as many runs with his sharp fielding.

But Sri Lanka’s consultant Fielding Coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar put the lid on selecting a player on his fielding alone.

“No player is ever selected only for his fielding in the eleven, not even Jonty Rhodes. Yes, Jonty Rhodes has taken a player of the match award for his fielding efforts. But in my little knowledge, no player has ever been selected only for his fielding skills,” said Sridhar. “Yes, sometimes if you’re a good fielder, it buys you a little more time when you are out of form or when two batters have equal performances, the better fielder gets the nod. But the truth is, fielding is a third skill. That is what we have to live with. So, the selections in my opinion will not be based purely on fielding.”

If Sri Lanka decide to drop Mishara, they have the option of giving Kusal Perera his first game. The other alternative is in the bowling, where Sri Lanka could leave out Hemantha and add an additional seamer, Pramod Madushan.

While Australia sweat on the fitness of their Captain Mitch Marsh, a key factor in Sri Lanka’s favour is that Australia has never faced slinger Matheesha Pathirana because the two sides have never played each other in a T20I since the 2022 World Cup. The cold fact is that Sri Lanka have not beaten Australia in a T20 World Cup since 2009 and Australia hold the record for the highest T20I total at Pallekele – 263-3 in 2016.

Stoinis said: “Mitch is going to have a good training session today. I think he’s confident. Obviously, he’s been in a bit of pain over the last week or so. I think a lot of those questions will be answered today through training. And Smitty’s (Steve Smith) obviously here as well so if he gets his chance, I’m not sure, but if he does, he’ll be ready to go. I’m sure he’s the ultimate professional.”