PM's XI vs Sri Lanka: International cricket T20 live scores, blog

Men’s international cricket is back on Australian shores this evening as Sri Lanka begin their short tour with a tour game against the PM’s XI in Canberra. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of the match from 7:10pm (AEDT).

The clash, which has been traditionally a one day game, will serve as a T20 this year in the lead-up to a three-match series for Sri Lanka which kicks off the Aussie summer.

While the Sri Lankans don’t have a long stay in Australia, this match will be an important one for the tourists as they aim to get acquainted with the conditions down under, before aiming to be competitive against the green and gold.

The Lasith Malinga-captained squad will have plenty to prove in Canberra, coming off a shoddy one-day World Cup, ahead of next year’s World Cup, which will also be held in Australia, and one which they will start in from the very first round, unlike the top eight teams in the world.

Their form in the shortest form of the game hasn’t been bad though, winning all three matches of a recent series against Pakistan in convincing fashion.

There were plenty of strong individual performances, but it was Isuru Udana and Nuwan Pradeep with the ball, which is where they won the series. Malinga coming back into the side should only strengthen that element in the only format of the game he still plays.

Still, their batting was lacking, and will receive a proper workout here from the PM’s XI bowling attack.

While co-captain Peter Siddle isn’t playing his prefered form of the game, the rest of the attack is classy and clever, with Daniel Christian and Ben Cutting both excelling in changes of pace, and Fawad Ahmed’ off spin being tricky to deal with at the best of times.

There are plenty of players in the PM’s XI side who will be pushing to make a statement in this clash, with Australia playing a mountain of limited overs and T20 cricket in the next 12 months ahead of the World Cup.

In fact, between now and the start of the World Cup, Australia will play a minimum of 21 T20 matches against seven different nations, so there is plenty of opportunity for players like Chris Lynn, Daniel Christian, Chris Green and Ben Cutting to try and force their way into the side, starting here.

Impressive young talent Jason Sangha will also be on display in this game, alongside Jordan Silk and Daniel Fallins.

Prediction
Sri Lanka are quite a good T20 side, however, Chris Lynn has a statement to make, and the PM’s XI bowling attack looks classy, so I’ll take the home side in a close one.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the PM’s XI match for 2019 from 7:10pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.

Game information

First ball: 7:10pm (AEDT)
Venue: Manuka Oval, Canberra
TV: Live, Fox Cricket 501
Online: Live, Kayo Sports, Foxtel App, Foxtel Now
Umpires: Troy Penman and Geoff Joshua

PM’s XI (squad)
Dan Christian (co-captain), Peter Siddle (co-captain), Chris Lynn, Ben Cutting, Jason Sangha, Fawad Ahmed, Jordan Silk, Daniel Fallins, Harry Nielsen, Chris Green, Djali Bloomfield, Daniel Leerdam (12th man)

Sri Lanka (squad)
Lasith Malinga (c), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dasun Shanaka, Shehan Jayasuriya, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha