COLOMBO: Sri Lanka have been dusted down without much fuss and attention now quickly moves to the visit of Pakistan, a side still ranked No. 1 in T20Is but with their grasp on the top spot becoming more tenuous by the match after a significant slip in form. If New Zealand take one match off England in their series and Australia win this 3-0, they will take Pakistan’s top spot.
Still, at least on paper, the visitors should give Australia a tougher challenge than Sri Lanka, particularly with the bowlers they have at their disposal. However, it’s worth remembering that just a few weeks ago, they were beaten 3-0 by a Sri Lanka side deemed weaker than the one that has just visited.
They produced an efficient display to ease to victory against the Cricket Australia XI in their warm-up match, each of the five bowlers used showing what they can bring to the attack. Trying to stop David Warner will be another task, but he will do well to go through another T20I series without being dismissed. They could face an attack including three left-arm quicks (who, as Chris Lynn noted after the CA XI match, all bring a different skillset) alongside the left-arm spin of Imad Wasim.
Australia were very impressive against Sri Lanka, but it is difficult to gauge what was really learned from the exercise, although the chance to build form and confidence should never be discounted. The balance of the side, with Ashton Agar at No. 7, has yet to be tested with a fall of early wickets but Aaron Finch has benefited by having five frontline bowlers.
Ashton Turner had the chance for a slightly longer bat in the chase at the MCG and gave a glimpse of what makes him such an exciting package for Australia’s limited-overs teams. He cleared the boundary with ease and is a master runner between the wickets. His shoulder is still not at 100% but barring further mishaps, he is a lock for the squad in a year’s time.
This is the first series for new T20I captain Babar Azam and he has a year – presuming he keeps the job, which is never a given for Pakistan cricket – to build the side ahead of the T20 World Cup. He is a wonderful batsman, currently ranked No. 1 in T20Is, and has developed further since his previous visit to Australia two years ago. His last innings in the country was a century in an ODI in Adelaide and it will be important that he sets the tone on this tour.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
The weather may yet play a key part in this match with rain, and a chance of thunderstorms, forecast for Sunday afternoon. It is the first match of the season at the SCG and while the 22 yards shouldn’t be an issue, there will be some interest in the rest of the square after the decision to move domestic cricket away from the ground last month.
