Australia‘s tour to Sri Lanka comes to its conclusion on Friday at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, when the two sides play the second and final T20 of their series. You can follow the live scores and blog of this match here on The Roar from 11:30pm (AEST).
Sri Lanka are in something of a transition, and will be more than happy that they were able to record an emphatic Test series victory 3-0, a result that saw the Australians lose their No.1 Test ranking.
However, in the white ball formats of the game – both the ODIs and now the first T20 – they have found themselves well outclassed by their visitors. They went down 1-4 in the ODI series, and are trailing 0-1 in the T20I series.
In the first of the T20Is Australia posted a world record score of 3/263, with Glenn Maxwell notching up the second highest ever individual score in a T20 with his unbeaten 145. In reply the hosts fought for a bit but managed only 178.
In other circumstances that might have been a more than decent score, but in this case still left the 85 runs short of their opponent’s total.
Maxwell, who struck nine sixes and another 14 fours in his 65-ball massacre, had been dropped from the squad entirely for the ODIs, and was only opening the batting here due to the injury that ruled out Aaron Finch. How the home side must have wished for the return of a man that himself had bludgeoned them during the ODIs.
Also how fortunes change for a man who was recently in such a spot of bother that he had gone from hoping a Test match call-up to an ODI axing.
While Sri Lanka’s batsmen proved capable of countering the Australian attack, the bowlers lack the guile and variety to counter such an attacking and long Australian lineup. And that is a side that is lacking its skipper, Steve Smith, and Mitchell Marsh, both of whom have already been sent home, as well as Finch.
The R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo which is hosting Friday’s match hosted two of the ODIs, including the only Sri Lankan victory, when they levelled that series 1-1 with an 82-run success. That could work as the other positive for Sri Lanka apart from their batting showing but the big question is whether the battered bowling can make a comeback in this second game.
You can follow the live scores and blog of this match here on The Roar from 11:30pm (AEST).
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
That's that then from this series and tour. Australia will now travel to South Africa later this month for a few ODIs while Sri Lanka look like they have a bit of a break. Hope you had a good time following this live blog and look forward to joining you once again during the South Africa-Australia series. Ciao.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
That looked like the game was going to end in a jiffy. 129 was never going to test the Aussies, or at least that's what one thought, and especially more so when Australia had raced away to 0/93 in the ninth over. And then panic set in. Maxwell's 29-ball 66 was ended by Prasanna and it was followed by three wickets before Australia got to 100. Usman Khawaja and Matthew Wade stemmed the rot a tad - but even they struggled to do that - before falling to Dilshan in his final game. Travis Head managed to get them the win in the end, leaving Sri Lanka hoping they had gotten to a few more.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
And six to finish it off! Tipped over the bar... ...that could have been caught. Senanayake was looking to go back but failed to get his jump timing right. Gets some hand on it and it's been tipped over for a maximum. Head, who had played that slog sweep, might have gotten a tad nervous there but in the end, it's a four-wicket win for Australia.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Peter Nevill has just played a ramp over the keeper and the slip fielder - who was moving to the leg-side - down to fine-leg for a three. Head attempts to finish it off with a maximum but is beaten! Lucky not to have gone on to hit the stumps. 6/124 in the 18th
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Gone! Wade has fallen to the reverse sweep! Here we go then, Dilshan has his second and that must rank as one of the worst-looking reverse sweeps in the history of T20Is. Was down the leg-side and Wade waited for it before going after it. Looked like he hadn't waited enough as the ball never came on and manages to hit it to short cover.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Head gets one that's very short and pulls it down to long-off for a single.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Three more, very relieving runs for Australia as Wade jumps out and gets an outside edge for three runs. Just 10 away now.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Dilshan will continue with his second. Can he get another?
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Three singles from the Senanayake over. 13 away with four overs remaining. This should have probably been over long ago. Or at least that's what Maxwell must be thinking.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Ooh, Head gets off the mark off an inside edge. Was playing off the back-foot, misread the length and manages to get his bat down in time. Three singles off the first three balls. 13 needed.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Travis Head has walked out at seven. Wade gets a single first ball off the Senanayake over to bring Head on. 14 needed.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Gone! Dilshan strikes! Khawaja's travails have been ended to a stroke he was struggling to play. Just not able to get it away on a pitch that has enough in it for the spinners, he misses a straight one and is given out, lbw. Dilshan has a wicket in his last international. Five down, 16 needed, five overs remain.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Khawaja pulls one away for one before Wade's strange-looking reverse gets him one too.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Another single, this for Wade. 18 needed from 31.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
T Dilshan has been given the ball as a change in his last game. Starts off with a slow ball, beats the batsman. Khawaja manages a single to a short fine-leg off the next. 19 needed from 34.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Don't think either batsmen have still gotten used to the pace of this surface. Khawaja almost hit one back to the bowler before nearly holing out to the short-cover fielder. Four singles from the over, which should ease the nerves a tad though. 20 more needed.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Dhananjaya de Silva gets the ball now. He bowled his only earlier over for eight. And Wade welcomes him with an attempted reverse sweep that he fails to connect. Cuts the second ball, not much of spin, and gets a single. 4/106 in the 14th
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
And finally a run for Khawaja as he middles the sweep. Nervy moments these for both batsmen. 4/105 in 13. Prasanna ends with figures of 1/16 from his four.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Beaten! Prasanna beats the outside edge of the Khawaja bat now. And then attempts a half-heated reverse sweep that hits the bottom of the bat to in front of the pitch. Next ball, there's an appeal for LBW but too much bounce before Khawaja unleashes the sweep. Did he sweep it on to his boot on its way to the leg-slip fielder? That's what the third ump will check. No, not off the boot. Swept it to the ground through to the leg-slip fielder.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Wade is struggling to read the pace of the pitch while attempting those sweeps. Struggling to get any bat on them before he finally gets a couple down to deep square-leg. Four from the over but could have easily got a wicket the way Wade batted. 4/103 in 12. Need another 26.