CRUNCH GAME FOR BOTH SIDES

By Srian Obeyesekere

Tomorrow’s second and final ODI will be significant to both host country Sri Lanka as well as touring Australia in a resonating must win for top gun ton up in form host captain in that brilliant lead from the front triumph on Wednesday in that a win tomorrow would historically be a chapter of back to back home series wins following the 3-2 triumph in 2022, while to Steve Smith’s Australians it would be literally make or break time to coming good to preserving their image as one of the big muscles in the ODI format and as much a personal challenge to Smith to keeping intact his standings as a top batsman and above an astute leader to regaining a lost image to where he should realistically belong following his controversy ridden removal in 2018 in what would overall be a solid test of strength to both camps in the crunch day game at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.

Indeed, the generating contrasting backdrop significance to the two sides in a must win challenge to both sides thus carries a blockbuster face off where to Charith Asalanka as in the case of his opposite number, beating Australia again would be a clean sweep conquest to his captaincy standings who is just getting the feel of things since wearing the big mantle not so long ago.

Of course, the Lankan skipper would be keen to be relieved of that One Man Show herculean winning cap he was driven to wear when the rest of the top order failed in the first game where one false stroke by him would have given Australia the game on a platter.

Certainly, it will be soul searching reality time for the rest of the specialist batsmen who have been handpicked by the national selectors to perform for the country at the highest level where it is high time big stage cricket is not for lame ducks, but for the tried and tested to deliver with the bat as professionals in the cricket business that they know best. The manner in which the first five wickets went reeling like a kite going out of control in the windy air will need to be a bad factor that cannot be repeated where their bats need to do the talking for a strong total against an opposition whose second string bowlers demonstrated they are top drawer stuff.

Sri Lanka’s bowling department was on a high with young Dunith Wellalage demonstrating he his no flash in the pan bowler as he followed up his wrecking if the high riding Indians last year by clearing the way for the rest by getting rid of Australia’s most dangerous batsman Steve Smith early on.

Meanwhile, Australia will be mindful that a repeat series loss in Sri Lanka would be a bad blot to their international standings and that infusing new faces to be put on the test is no excuse to losing in such a must win scenario
The new faces manning the bowling front led by Ellis, by and large had Sri Lanka on its knees until the Lankan skipper’s last ditch efforts.

Having said that, Australia does possess quite a winning composition in Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Marnus Labuschagne while some of the new faces are no pushovers for sure.