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2nd ODI Predictions: Sri Lanka vs Australia
Sri Lanka and Australia will clash in the second of the five-match One Day International cricket (ODI) series on June 16 at the Pallekele Stadium, Kandy.
Aaron Finch will lead the side and they have retained most of the players that featured in the T20I series.
Dasum Shanaka will continue to lead the Lankan side.
Current form
In the first ODI, Sri Lanka had posted a formidable 300 for 7 wickets, batting first.
After a 115 run opening partnership between Pathum Nissanka and Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis took over with a brilliant 86 not out.
The final impetus was provided by all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga who smashed five fours off the 49th over and hit 37 off 19 balls.
The Pallekele pitch is known to assist spinners and not surprisingly, Ashton Agar impressed with 2 for 49.
Marnus Labuschagne picked out two tail-end wickets and finished with 2 for 19 from his three overs.
In reply, Australia reached the target thanks to useful contributions by Steve Smith (53), Aaron Finch (44) and Marcus Stoinis (44).
However, the decisive innings was played by Glenn Maxwell who smashed 80 off just 51 balls.
Australia reached 282 in 42.3 overs losing 8 eight wickets.
The target was reduced owing to the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Head to Head record
The two sides have played each other 98 times in ODIs.
The men in yellow have 62 victories to their credit.
Sri Lanka has won a mere 32 games.
Four games played between the two sides have yielded no result.
However, Sri Lanka has a formidable home record.
Off the 30 ODIs played in Sri Lanka, the hosts have won 14 games over the Kangaroos, whilst the visitors have won 13.
Three games have ended without a result.
The home soil advantage
Sri Lanka is a tough opponent at home.
They have a great record even against the top teams.
Let’s look at what happened in Sri Lanka’s last two home assignments.
In September last year, they defeated South Africa 2-1 at home.
Next, they hosted Zimbabwe in January this year, where they again won by 2-1.
The Pallekele pitch is slow and dusty and aids spinners. Sri Lanka know how to eke out wins using the home conditions and can never be taken lightly.
Venue and pitch trends
In the last five ODI games played here, the sides batting first have won easily.
If conditions are cloudy, fast bowlers do well and get the ball to move.
The wicket offers lots of assistance to the spinners as the ball grips the surface and turns sharply.
Rain is likely.
We expect the side winning the toss to bowl first on this track.
Key Players
Marcus Stoinis is one of the most under-rated players in the shorter format.
However, he is rated highly by the Australian board.
Even the first ODI showed that as long as Stoinis is around, Australia always have a chance.
Also, he is handy with bat and ball and can be a key impact player for Australia.
Wanindu Hasaranga is one of the world’s top T20 bowlers and can be relied to pick up wickets.
Though his numbers in ODIs aren’t as impressive as T20s, Hasaranga is a fast improving player who has added an extra dimension to his cricket by becoming an explosive finisher.
He was the star performer in the 1st ODI with 4 wickets and a blazing 37 off just 19 balls.
Prediction
Australia has a potent pace attack but that gets totally nullified on Sri Lanka’s slow pitches.
The Aussie spin attack is efficient but not very threatening.
As a result, the Sri Lankan batters will fancy their chances to post a big total.
If Sri Lanka win the toss, they will most likely bowl first an then put the Aussie batters under pressure using their spinners.
In the 1st OI, they went with 3 top line spinners – Theekshana, Hasaranga and Wellalage.
Wellalage is a left arm slow orthodox spinner who can be difficult to get away.
Hasaranga and Theekshana are both wicket-taking bowlers who can hurt Australia.
Admittedly, the Aussies have a powerful batting line-up with the likes of Warner, Maxwell, Stoinis and Smith.
But our prediction is, if Sri Lanka win the toss, they will go on to win the match.
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Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry star in RCB women’s comeback win against UP Warriorz in WPL 2024
RCB women overcame UP Warriorz by 23 runs to clinch their third win of the season. The home side outperformed Warriorz in all the facets of the game and emerged victorious. A collective team effort, particularly with the bat, helped RCB women to beat Warriorz for the second time in the season. They now have three wins in their five matches in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Given how things have panned out in the league so far, it needed a great batting performance from RCB to challenge the chasing side. The home side did exactly that. They were full of intent which was lacking in the last few games. Right from the start, S Meghana and Smriti Mandhana smashed the bowlers.
It was the night of the RCB skipper. The Southpaw scored 80(50) in her stay. S Meghana perished after a valuable 28(21). Ellyse Perry batted well and registered her first fifty of the WPL 2024. She was aided well towards the end by Richa Ghosh whose 21(10) propelled RCB to a score of 198 on the board. It was the highest team total in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy’s efforts go in vain
Chasing the daunting total, UP Warriorz were off to a flier. The opening duo of Healy and Kiran Navgire gave a fiery start to the visiting side. When the two were batting in the PP overs, it seemed like the Warriorz could pull off an insane chase. However, Sophie Devine brought RCB back into the game with crucial wickets. At Bengaluru, the home crowd was literally behind the RCB women.
It helped the home side to stay calm and do their job with ease. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana were the pick of the bowlers, who claimed 2/29 each in their spell of four overs. While Healy scored a fifty and Deepti tried her best in the death overs, ten daunting targets could not be chased down. Despite the early hiccups, RCB managed to restrict UP Warriorz to a score of 175 and won by 23 runs.
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WATCH: Ellyse Perry in disbelief as her six breaks car’s window
Ellyse Perry smashed a six in the match against UP Warriorz in the WPL 2024. It was an interesting six as the ball travelled towards the boundary ropes and fell exactly on the window of the car. As a result, the glass of the window was broken. The car is set to be provided as a reward for the player of the tournament.
It was the over of Deepti Sharma towards the last few moments of RCB’s innings. Before Perry struck, the home side was in a great position in the match, thanks to a great start provided by Smriti Mandhana. The star batter scored 80 (50) and shined in front of the home crowd. Her form helped RCB to have a good momentum towards the death overs.
Watch the viral video here –
ELLYSE PERRY HAS BROKE THE GLASS OF THE CAR…!!! 🤯
– The reaction of Perry was priceless!! pic.twitter.com/zaxiQLLN1r
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 4, 2024
Perry, who was struggling till that point, opened up and smashed the bowlers for fun. She went hard against the spinners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma who were asked to bowl at the death. The right-handed batter smashed back-to-back sixes in the over of Sharma. One of those travelled towards the mid-wicket region where the car was stationed. The video of her shot has gone viral on X.
RCB teammates laugh, Ellyse Perry in disbelief
As the ball fell on the car and damaged the window, the fans erupted. There was no end to the joy of the fans who started chanting “Perry.. Perry..” and lit the atmosphere of the stadium. However, Perry was in disbelief. As she saw the impact of the ball damaging the car’s window, the Australian batter could not believe her eyes and thought about what she had just done.
On the other hand, the RCB teammates of Perry were in awe of the shot. They looked at the replays and appreciated the shot of Perry. At the same time, players like Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine had a laugh about the car’s window getting damaged. Ellyse scored a fifty and helped her team score 198 runs with her batting in front of the home crowd.
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Praveen Kumar addresses Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s negligence of taking part in Ranji Trophy
Praveen Kumar has given his opinion on the preferences of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in recent times. The duo did not take part in the Ranji Trophy matches for their respective teams despite being fit. It did not go well with the Indian Cricket Board which landed the duo without a ventral contract which was announced a few days back.
Praveen Kumar has reacted to the issue recently. The former India pacer claimed that he has been of an opinion on the issue for a long time. Praveen felt that one should definitely earn money but not at the cost of neglecting to play for domestic and national teams. The right-arm pacer felt that players today are having a certain mentality which is not good.
The former pacer claimed that the players have a mindset that they can rest for a month before taking part in the IPL, thereby bypassing playing for their national team or the domestic teams. Praveen felt that the players could not resist letting go of money which they could earn by taking part in the IPL and other T20 leagues (For foreign players).
‘Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun’ – Praveen Kumar
“This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun,” said Praveen in the interview. He claimed that youngsters these days are spoilt and are behind money. The former RCB pacer felt that it is not fair on the part of the young players to neglect the country over the IPL.
Kumar felt that a player needs to maintain a balance between playing for the IPL team and for the country. He felt that money is an important factor, but not at the cost of playing for the national team. “But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” said the former Indian bowler in the interview.
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