ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024: The Sri Lanka women's cricket team has been in an absolute resurgence of late, winning over teams that they had earlier lost to, and their pathetic performance against Pakistan in the World Cup opener has placed them in a disastrous position right from the beginning of the carnival. Added stress comes in the form of defending champions Australia, which the Sri Lankan women have never beaten, two days later.
The loss against Pakistan showed that Sri Lanka is strictly dependent on the all-round performances of Athapaththu. Even though other players have significantly gained with every passing game, still Athapaththu's dominance cannot be overlooked.
Sri Lanka captain has had some luck against Australia in the past, as she boasts an average of 38.14 and a strike rate of 118.14 in seven T20Is. She will certainly want to give her best against the Alyssa Healy-led side this Sunday. A victory over Australia would cap off this fairy-tale year for Sri Lanka.
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However, this surely is not going to be an easy job. Australia has a team that is so full of promise that it can even afford to miss out on Jess Jonassen in its playing XI. Though they cannot recreate the hegemony they showed under former captain Meg Lanning, that does not make the side any less potent, and thus any defeat was a big upsets.
A resurgent Sri Lankan team might be seen here, off the back of their win in the Asian Championship, which they will look to repeat, but it will surely be played at their best to cause some upsets.
Match Information:
Date: Saturday, 5th October 2024, 2:00 PM (Local Time)
Match: Australia vs. Sri Lanka, Match 5, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Expectations:
None of the four teams batting in Sharjah on the opening day could reach 120 runs, so get ready for another low-scoring battle. It is going to be a very interesting playout between the Australian batters and Sri Lankan spinners.
Australia's Probable XI: Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Elysse Perry, Ash Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt.
Sri Lanka's Probable XI: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi De Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani, Sachini Nisansala, Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Udeshika Prabodhani.
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