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Australia vs Sri Lanka - SCG T20I: cricket live scores, updates

26th January, 2013
Australia squad
GJ Bailey, BCJ Cutting, XJ Doherty, JP Faulkner, AJ Finch, B Laughlin, SE Marsh, GJ Maxwell, MA Starc, AC Voges, MS Wade, DA Warner

Sri Lanka squad
DPMD Jayawardene, AD Mathews, LD Chandimal, A Dananjaya, TM Dilshan, RMS Eranga, HMRKB Herath, KMDN Kulasekara, RAS Lakmal, SL Malinga, BAW Mendis, BMAJ Mendis, MDKJ Perera, NLTC Perera, WU Tharanga, HDRL Thirimanne
Roar Guru
26th January, 2013
137
2088 Reads

The last leg of Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia begins with the first of two T20Is which will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

We’ll bring you the live coverage of the action throughout this T20I at Sydney from 7.35pm AEST on January 26.

It will be a different set of personnel who take field for Australia but George Bailey, their captain, will enter the series with some more experience of playing at the highest level and leading as well.

His three games as captains in the ODIs against Sri Lanka led to two victories and he will hope to build on it.

Also back into the squad is Shaun Marsh after scoring heavily in the Big Bash League while Aaron Finch will hope to consolidate on his T20 credentials after a poor couple of ODIs.

Adam Voges gets a call-up too, almost two years after he last played an international for Australia.

Back in the World T20, Australia had gotten themselves a semi-finals spot thanks mainly due to the all-round prowess of Shane Watson.

A failure with bat and ball in the semi-finals for Watson had ended Australia’s run in the competition, giving rise to thoughts that the side overly depended on it.

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Watson will miss out this time because of injury and Australia will have a good chance to prove their T20 credentials with this new team

Sri Lanka have something new as well and it is their captain. Angelo Mathews has taken over the baton from Mahela Jayawardene who had resigned from the job at the end of the World T20.

Mathews will have a task on his hands, not necessarily only because playing against Australia is Australia is difficult.

Juggling his batting and bowling responsibilities with leading the team could be handful for this young skipper, who may not be a certainty to take over as the Test captain as was originally envisaged.

Such have been the Sri Lankan board machinations that what was earlier deemed a foregone conclusion – about Mathews’ leading the side in ODIs and Tests as well – is now highly doubtful.

What Mathews will therefore look at is to focus on what he can do. And first up will be a task to choose their 11 best players for this first T20I against Australia.

It isn’t certain whether or not Jayawardene will play this game but on current form he will do well to take a break and allow someone younger to get a chance. That could leave Sri Lanka with Tillakaratne Dilshan as the only experienced bat in the order.

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The bowling will be a hard nut to crack with Lasith Malinga having found form in the ODIs and Nuwan Kulasekara being hard to get away.

The Lankans will be tempted to play another one of their mystery spinners in Akila Dananjaya but with Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis in the squad, he might have to wait his turn if they decide to go in with only one tweaker.

We will bring you the live coverage throughout the game from the SCG and hope to receive your opinions as the action unfolds.

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