Sri Lanka strive to turn around their nightmare tour of Australia

• Lost by 41 runs


• Lost by 9 wickets


• Lost by 132 runs


• Lost by 157 runs

With each game, the margin of defeat has gotten worse and worse. If this pattern is something to go by, the signs don’t look very promising for Sri Lanka.

The last of those results was in the first ODI at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Saturday (October 5). It came on the heels of their mauling in the final T20I in Sydney only a few days earlier. What started off as a promising limited overs series for Sri Lanka— thanks largely to Chamari Atapattu’s maiden T20I century— has quickly become a nightmare.

Granted, Sri Lanka came into the series with no realistic hopes of actually winning any games. They were in the middle of likely their worst form in recent years— with only one win in their last 15 ODIs, and one T20I win in the last 12 months— coming in to their first ever bi-lateral tour of Australia. To top it off, only four players from their squad had experience playing international cricket in the country previously. The odds were, quite obviously, heavily stacked against them.

Sri Lanka’s batting has been the biggest disappointment through the tour. A young team, quite heavily reliant on the contributions of Atapattu at the top of the order, they have failed to tackle the guile of Australia’s bowlers. Those who have tried to occupy the crease, have struggled to find a way to score. They will need to search for solutions if they want to put on an improved performance come the second ODI on Monday (October 7).

With the ball, the visitors have blown hot and cold. While Australia have often dominated their attack through the series, there have been a few opportunities created by the bowlers. On surfaces that have largely suited the batters— they have been hitting through the line of the ball— the likes of Shashikala Siriwardene, Oshadi Ransinghe, Udeshika Prabodhani and Atapattu too, have at times, been able to restrict run flow. Now, they will have to learn to pick up wickets as well.

For Australia, life is good - as it has been for much of the last 12-18 months. They extended their winning streak in ODIs to 16, and look set to go through another series undefeated. However, as thorough professionals, they will be keen to put on an improved show and hand Sri Lanka another crushing defeat. Any tinkering or experimenting will happen only once the series is sealed. For now, they are likely to stick to their winning formula.

 

Squads:

Australia: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Heather Graham, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.

Sri Lanka: Shashikala Siriwardene (c), Harshitha Madavi , Chamari Atapattu, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Hansima Karunarathne, Yashoda Mendis, Nilakshi de Silva, Dilani Manodara, Oshadie Ranasinghe, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandhika Kumari, Inoshi Fernando, Achini Kulasuriya, Udeshika Prabodhani, Ama Kanchana.