Sunday’s Pool A showdown will go a long way to shaping the World Cup quarter-finals
Another chapter will be added to the storied World Cup history between Australia and Sri Lanka when the two sides meet at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Twice opponents in World Cup finals – Sri Lanka won in 1996, before Australia gained vengeance in 2007 – this meeting is another of significance.
New Zealand are unbeaten from four matches in Pool A and with their two remaining fixtures at home to Afghanistan (Sunday, March 8) and Bangladesh (Friday, March 13), look a certainty to retain top spot in Pool A.
England and Bangladesh face off in Adelaide on Monday, with the winner likely to secure fourth place in the group.
That leaves second and third positions up for grabs – the order of which will be determined by the Australia versus Sri Lanka showdown.
The winner of Sunday’s match will secure second place in Pool A, which means avoiding a likely quarter-final meeting with South Africa.
Instead they would face either Pakistan, West Indies or Ireland in their quarter-final (as an aside, regardless of where they finish, Australia’s quarter-final will be in Adelaide, and Sri Lanka’s will be in Sydney).
Assuming a quarter-final victory, the team finishing second in Pool A would avoid a semi-final in Auckland, which would likely be a meeting with New Zealand in Eden Park. Instead, they would play a semi-final in Sydney, probably against India.
While they share finals one apiece, that 1996 defeat in Lahore is the only loss Australia have suffered to the Sri Lankans in seven completed World Cup bouts – although in ’96 Australia forfeited their early rounds match against Sri Lanka after opting not to travel to Colombo due to safety concerns.
Despite that record, Sri Lanka will take confidence from Sunday’s venue; in their past six completed ODIs against Australia at the SCG dating back to 2003, they have won on four occasions.
Digging further, in the three most recent matches – one of which was a no-result after the match was washed out during Sri Lanka’s innings – Australia have made scores of 210 (chasing 213 to win from 38 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method), 158 and 222.
Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara knows just how important the fixture is given the fact that both sides have already suffered a defeat to New Zealand.
“A side that has won every one of their games, maybe they don’t have to worry too much,” Sangakkara told AAP.
“But when you’re not in that situation, you might start thinking about who you’ll face in the quarter-finals and whether these wins have any bearing on what happens there.
“For us as well as Australia, it’ll be a very important game
“They’re one of the top teams in the tournament … we will play as the underdogs.
“They had a poor game against New Zealand, but bounced back strongly.
“Every side has got weaknesses and strengths, but Australia are a very strong side.”
Australia captain Michael Clarke made it clear just what a threat he thinks the Sri Lankans pose following his side’s win over Afghanistan on Wednesday night in Perth.
“They’re going to be a really tough team to beat,” Clarke said. “They like playing at the Sydney Cricket Ground and they’re playing really good cricket.
“They’ve got experience and I think that’s always an important part of a good team in major tournaments; if you’ve got some players who have been involved in World Cups before, I think that gives you a good advantage, and Sri Lanka have certainly got a few of those players and they’re in really good form.”
Australia may opt to name an unchanged side from that record-breaking win over Afghanistan, with Pat Cummins expected to be recovered from his “minor niggle” although Josh Hazlewood impressed at the WACA.
Australia opted to jettison allrounder Shane Watson for the returning James Faulkner, who has recovered from a side strain and is seen as key to Australia’s late order batting as well as death bowling.
Sri Lanka are not without their own injury concerns with spinner Rangana Herath (finger injury) and batsman Dimuth Karunaratne (broken hand) both ruled out, the latter for the remainder of the tournament.
Off-spinner Sachinthra Senanayake, who was last year banned for an illegal action but has since been cleared by the ICC after undergoing remedial work and re-testing, is expected to replace Herath.
The six right-handers in Australia’s top eight will likely welcome the inclusion of Senanayake, whose standard off-break will turn into them on the SCG pitch, however the 30-year-old also boasts a carrom ball that he flicks the other way.
He has taken seven wickets in six ODIs since his remodelled action was approved by the ICC in December, and also represented Sydney Sixers in BBL|02, taking one wicket in two appearances.
Kusal Perera arrived in Sydney in what Sri Lanka chairman of selectors Sanath Jayasuriya described as a “precautionary measure”, while Seekkuge Prasanna has officially been approved as Karunaratne’s replacement.
