ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 Match 5, Australia vs Sri Lanka: Preview, prediction, likely XIs

Australia Women and Sri Lanka Women will face in Match 5 of the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup, at the WACA Ground, Perth. Both teams have lost their respective first matches, against India and New Zealand respectively, and will want to get themselves off the block.

To be fair, Australia should have won the tournament opener, at the Sydney Showground, especially after Jess Jonassen (4-0-24-2) and Ellyse Perry (3-0-15-1) had restricted India to 132/4. This was followed by an onslaught from Alyssa Healy (51 in 35 balls), which left Australia to score 66 in 62 wickets with 8 wickets in hand. They added another 48 against Poonam Yadav.

Sri Lanka, too, were off to a flier thanks to the ubiquitous Chamari Athapaththu (41 in 30). They were 87/1 after 11.4 overs at one stage before she departed; the last 50 balls got them a mere 40/6. New Zealand won by 7 wickets in the 18th over.

Australia will be overwhelming favourites here, more so because of Sri Lanka’s overdependence on Athapaththu and Shashikala Siriwardene.

Head to head

Australia Women have won all 5 matches – including 3 earlier this season on Australian soil.

Key players

Alyssa Healy (Australia Women): Healy overcame her rough patch with a characteristically belligerent fifty against India, almost continuing with her superlative performance in the previous edition. She may be more than a handful for the Sri Lankan seamers.

Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka Women): Athapaththu loves Australia. She slammed a hundred against them in the 2017 World Cup, and another in a T20I on Australian soil this season. A superlative performance from her is Sri Lanka’s only hope here.

Likely XIs

Australia Women: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes, Ashleigh Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Joss Jonassen, Annabel Sutherland, Delissa Kimmince, Molly Strano, Megan Schutt.

Sri Lanka Women: Hasini Perera, Chamari Athapaththu (c), Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Harshitha Madavi, Shashikala Siriwardene, Nilakshi de Silva, Ama Kanchana, Kavisha Dilhari, Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodhani.

Prediction

Australia Women to secure their first points with a win.