Australia vs http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758: Decisive encounter in group 'A' – ICC World Cup 2011
Defending champions Australia and former champion Sri Lanka will be up against each other today in a crucial tie of group ‘A’ of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 at the R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. After Sri Lanka’s defeat against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, this match has
become very important for both teams if they want to finish high up on the points table in their group before the quarter-finals.
No matter what the result is of this match, it is going to have a huge impact on the standings of the teams at the end of the group stage. Ricky Ponting and company are trying to defend the title for the third consecutive time. Even though cricket pundits
all around the world are not giving the Aussies much of a chance this time round, they are still a major force in international cricket. It is not going to be easy for any team in the World Cup to dismantle the Kangaroos.
Australian batting might not be as destructive as it used to be in the past but with the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 and White. However, the
absence of Michael Hussey has dented Australian hopes and his presence in the line-up will be sourly missed. Hussey is considered as one of the best finishers of modern day cricket.
The biggest positive for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in the ongoing tournament has been the return to form of Mitchell Johnson as he has taken eight wickets in two matches so far and seems to have found the same rhythm he had a couple of years back. With the likes of Shaun
Tait and Brett Lee, Aussie pace attack in limited over cricket is definitely one of the best in the business but the spin bowling department remains a concern since the retirement of Shane Warne. It seems his boots are a little too big to fill.
Sri Lanka on the other hand has had a mixed tournament. They had a couple of comprehensive victories over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748 and Kenya but could not embrace success against Pakistan. They will surely face a big challenge today as the Aussies will be coming hard at them.
Sri Lanka relies a little too heavily on their top three batsmen and if they do not click, it gets very hard for the other batsmen to pile up big scores on the board. Against a tough opponent like Australia, the whole batting unit will have to contribute.
Sri Lankan bowling is led by Lasith Malinga, who took his second hat-trick of world cup cricket against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752 the other day and Sri Lankan captain, Sangakara, will be looking at him to make inroads in the Aussie batting lineup. Malinga will have support
from Muralitharan and Mendis in the bowling department. Sri Lankan management has a tough decision to make as they have to choose one out of Kulasekra and Parera. The former is experienced and reliable with the new ball but the later is young, energetic and
has the potential to pick up wickets at crucial junctures of the game.
This match has the potential of a real cliff-hanger as both these teams are finalists of the previous edition of the tournament and naturally it promises to be a real thriller for cricket fans all around the world. Both teams will be looking to seize the
advantage and finish higher in their group so that they can take on the weaker teams of group ‘B’ in the quarter-final and also to boost their morale before the knock-out stage.
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