Australia are favourites to win
Australia thrashed Sri Lanka by 85 runs on Tuesday to win the first of the 2-match T20I series. After piling up an outrageous 263 on the board and breaking the record for the highest total in a T20I innings, the visitors then took control with the ball and restricted the hosts to 178.
The two teams are set to be in action again for the second and the final T20 international to be played on September 9 at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. This will be the final fixture of Australia's tour of Sri Lanka and both teams would like to finish off with a win. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 PM local time.
Read on for our betting tips and match prediction for Sri Lanka vs Australia second T20 international...
The side that has batted first at the R. Premadasa has scored above 160 in the previous three T20Is. Scores of around 150 have been achieved six times in the past 10 matches which includes a big score of 205. So it seems to be a decent enough surface to bat on with 175 and above being a challenging first-innings total.
There is a definite toss bias here as eight of the last ten games have been won by the team batting first. Also, in the last seven matches, the toss-winning team has gone on to win on six occasions. So whoever wins the toss is likely to bat first.
Sri Lanka, to have a shot at victory, will need to win the toss and put up 175 or more on the board. But Australia's chances of a win will get a big boost if they bat first.
Predicted Score: Around 160
This will be the last international outing for Tillakaratne Dilshan and he will be looking to finish his career in style. He is the leading run-scorer for Sri Lanka at this venue and therefore he is expected to play a good knock in this match. Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis will also have an important role to play at the top. Dinesh Chandimal, who scored a fifty the other night, will be the key figure for Sri Lanka again and is likely to score the most runs. The hosts will be depending on these four batsmen for reaching the predicted total.
The Sri Lankan batsmen could be troubled the most by Mitchell Starc who once again shone with the ball, taking three wickets while being economical. The speedster has taken 10 wickets in six games at the R. Premadasa and chances are that he could surpass Watson's 11 to become the leading wicket-taker at this ground. Scott Boland and James Faulkner are going to be the other major forces in Australia's pace attack while Adam Zampa will be the main weapon in their spin attack. If Sri Lanka give away wickets at the start, they will make it difficult for themselves to reach even 150.
Predicted Score: Around 175
Opening for the first time in a T20I, Glenn Maxwell justified his inclusion in the side with a blistering 65-ball 145 not-out. But Australia would like to have runs from Warner's bat as well. There will be high expectations from their stand-in captain who is the leading run-scorer at this ground from the current Australian squad. The shorter the format, the more dangerous he becomes. So there is a good chance that he may explode and end up scoring the most runs for his team. George Bailey and Travis Head will be the important figures in the middle-order, and Australia should cruise to the predicted score if there are good contributions from these four.
Sri Lanka's pace attack is going to depend largely on Suranga Lakmal and Thisara Perera. While the former will be backed by the team for the early breakthroughs, the latter could be more effective during the closing stage of the innings. Spin options include Sachith Pathirana and Sachithra Senanayake, both of whom are expected to do well in this match. Pathirana was impressive in the ODI series while Senanayake had figures of 3-14 against South Africa at this ground in 2013. If Sri Lanka dismiss Warner, Maxwell and the in-form Bailey cheaply, getting to around 175 may not be that easy for Australia.
After losing five consecutive matches to Sri Lanka in this format, Australia finally broke the shackles with a resounding victory at Pallekele. The two teams have now played a total of three T20Is with each other in Sri Lanka. The hosts have two wins while the visitors secured their only win on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka and Australia have never faced each other before in a T20I at the R.Premadasa.
Sri Lanka may boast of a strong head-to-head T20 record over Australia, but they have a dismal T20 record at the R.Premadasa. They have, till date, played 10 matches here of which 9 have been lost. They have been defeated in their last five T20Is at this ground. So playing at this venue surely won't give them an edge of any kind. Moreover, the beating they received in the previous game is going to further deplete their confidence levels.
The visitors have a superior T20 record here with four wins in their six matches. However, they too have suffered defeats in their previous two matches, both of which were played in 2012. Australia's batsmen, over time, seem to have developed a liking for spin, and their bowlers are utilizing the conditions better than the hosts.
Although T20 cricket is that kind of a game where results are not always as expected, we predict Australia to wrap up their tour with a win in this second T20 international.
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