AUS vs SL 5th T20I: PREVIEW

Clinical Australia look for a whiteash, SL to play for pride. 

Aaron Finch's men continue their domination over Sri Lanka with a 6-wicket victory in a low scorer yet again at the G in the 4th T20I. Australia had a couple of changes to their side. The pace trio of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins decided not to take further part in the series to freshen up ahead of the side's departure for Pakistan where they will play a 3 match Test series and 4 T20Is. Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson and Daniel Sams took the responsibility of pace department wilth Adam Zampa returning after missing out in the 3rd game. SL had a forced change in Lahiru Kumara who came in for Nuwan Thushara.

Sri Lanka had a modest start to their innings with 73 on the board after 10 overs. But could not capitalise on the good start by losing wickets at regular interval. A few hits in the end by Chamika Karunaratne helped them reach a respectable total of 139. 
The spin duo of Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar again proved to be SL's nemesis as they gave away only 40 runs between their 8 overs and picked up 2 crucial wickets of set openers. 

SL had a dream start with the ball as mystery spinner Theekshana once again dismissed the dangerous Ben McDermott cheaply. Lahiru Kumara who was playing his 1st game of the series troubled the hosts with his high pace and picked up the wickets of Aaron Finch and the the new opener Ashton Agar. The instant it looked like SL are getting back in the game, Josh Inglis scored few boundaries in Vandersay's over and relieved the pressure. Maxwell and Inglis continued to attack and stitched a match-winning partnership of 71 runs.

Visitors will be forced to play with the same XI as they have been rocked with Covid cases in the camp. Aaron Finch hinted he may bat at 5 since they look to give ample opportunities to new players with the mega event starting in less than 8 months time. He is averaging 27.73 at a strike rate of 121 in his last 21 innings. Australia may plan to give Wade and Stoinis enough game time by promoting them in the batting order. Series also provides great opportunity for Ben McDermott and Josh Inglis in absence of David Warner and Mitch Marsh.

Pitch Report

Expect a high-scoring encounter with spin getting some assistance at the MCG. Although 72% wickets have been picked by pacers here.

Probable XI

Australia: Ashton Agar, Ben McDermott, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Daniel Sams, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson

Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Dasun Shanaka, Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara

Head to Head

Overall: Australia leads 13-8
In Australia: Australia leads 8-5
At Melbourne: Both teams have 2 wins each
Last 10 matches: Australia leads 9-1

Match Ups

Australia
McDermott vs Theekshana: 16 runs off 16 balls with 2 dismissals
Finch vs L Kumara: 29 runs off 15 balls with 2 dismissals
Maxwell vs Theekshana: 19 runs off 14 balls with 2 dismissals
Maxwell vs Rajitha: 32 runs off 12 balls with no dismissals
Inglis vs Vandersay: 32 runs off 15 balls with no dismissals

Sri Lanka
Nissanka vs Zampa: 23 runs off 26 balls with 2 dismissals
Gunathilaka vs Hazlewood: 10 runs off 10 balls with 2 dismissals
K Mendis vs J Richardson:  5 runs off 10 balls with  2 dismissals
Asalanka vs Zampa: 18 runs off 16 balls with 2 dismissals
Chandimal vs K Richardson: 8 runs off 9 balls with 2 dismissals
Shanaka vs Zampa: 17 runs off 23 balls with 2 dismissals
Shanaka vs K Richardson: 36 runs off 22 balls with 1 dismissal
C Karunaratne vs Hazlewood: 6 runs off 7 balls with 2 dismissals

Form Update

Trivia

• Australia have won 10 out of their last 11 T20Is
• Sri Lanka have won only 1 out of their last 8 T20Is
• Gunathilaka hasn't scored a 20+ score in his last 8 T20I innings

Key Players

Australia

Glenn Maxwell: The Aussie, known as the 'Big Show' for his big match performances has been an underrated contributor for the hosts in the series with both bat and bowl. His partnership with Inglis in the 4th T20I came at the right moment when things looked dicey after the fall of early wickets. He is the 3rd highest run scorer in the series at a SR of 132 which includes 2 crucial knocks.

Josh Inglis: If there is any player who has grabbed the opportunity with both hands in this series its Josh Inglis. He has a great chance to seal the no. 4 spot as Steve Smith's future in T20Is look uncertain. His glittering BBL career numbers do justice to this exciting talent. Mitch Marsh has already cemented his place at no. 3 with consistent performances over the last 8 months. Reports are also rife that Australia is looking to give Tim David a chance in the middle. Josh is the 2nd leading run scorer of the series with an impressive strike rate of 150.

Adam Zampa: If SL want to put up a formidable total then they have to take chances against  Zampa in middle overs. Zampa has taken 31 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 6.99 in last one year and was majority's choice for their Man of the tournament in T20 World Cup.

Sri Lanka

Maheesh Theekshana: Sri Lanka suffered a massive blow when their star all-rounder Hasaranga was out due to COVID 19. Mystery spinner Theekshana has been their only saving grace in the bowling department with back to back tidy match figures of 3/24 and 1/20.

Pathum Nissanka: His team hasn't managed to get good starts with his opening partner Gunathalika getting out cheaply in all 4 games. Nissanka almost saw Sri Lanka home with his 73 in 2nd T20I but that was just not enough. He was again among runs with a knock of 46 but it came at a SR of 111.50. He has been fairly criticised for the slow starts in this series but SL's fortunes mainly lie on him and Asalanka in the batting department. He is the leading run getter with 171 runs at a strike rate of 113.  

Dushmantha Chameera: Chameera had done a decent job in the first 2 games at the death and had picked 4 wickets in the series at an economy of 7.5 prior to the last game. SL will be boosted by the presence of Lahiru Kumara whose pace was a little hot to handle for the hosts.

Fanstasy XI

Feel free to include Stoinis in place of Finch