World Cup 2019, Match 20, Australia vs Sri Lanka: Preview, Weather Report, Pitch Report, Match Details, Head to Head Stats & Playing XI

The in-form Australian team will take on the Sri Lankans on 15th June, Saturday at the Oval, London for the 20th match of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. The Aussies come off a confidence-boosting win over Pakistan while Sri Lanka's last 2 games have been washed out and they'll be raring to get some action.

Match Details

Date: 15th June (Saturday)

Time: 8:00 PM(Australia), 3:00 PM(Sri Lanka), 10:30 AM(England) and 3:00 pm(IST)

Venue: The Oval, London

Weather Report

The Oval is expected to see some rain around the start of the match. Hence, a delayed start can be expected. The rest of the day is expected to be oscillating between sunny and cloudy weather with the fast bowlers set to get some assistance from the overcast conditions.

Pitch Report

The wicket at the Oval is expected to be pretty quick-paced with the ball coming on to the bat nicely. The slight overcast conditions might assist the seam bowlers but it will remain a good batting surface.

Head-To-Head Stats

Overall: The 'Kangaroos' have a 60-32 lead over the 'Islanders' in the 92 completed ODIs.

In World Cup: Both these sides have faced off in 8 completed ODIs with Australia having a 7-1 lead over Sri Lanka.

In England: Both Australia and Sri Lanka have won one game apiece in England.

At the Oval: Both these sides have faced off only at the Oval while in England and have one win apiece.

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Australia

Australia are in good form ahead of this encounter.

Batting

Key Batsmen: David Warner, Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell

Australia's batting efforts were largely successful due to the efforts of openers David Warner and Aaron Finch but the rest of the side needs to step up and perform against Sri Lanka. Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell will have to play a bigger role while the likes of Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh will hope to get more time with the bat.

The Aussies must look to pile on a big score and play attacking cricket right from the start.

Bowling

Key Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile

Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have been brilliant throughout the World Cup and will look to continue in the same vein against the Lankans. The Aussies had tried out 4 pacers against Pakistan and the experiment had backfired due to the poor show from the part-time spinner Glenn Maxwell, who could not give the Pakistanis a difficult time.

With Adam Zampa set to return to the side, most likely in place of Kane Richardson, Australia are well set to deliver a good performance with the ball.

Predicted Playing XI

Aaron Finch(C), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey(WK), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Adam Zampa.

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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka will be desperate to get some game time.

Batting

Key Batsmen: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis

After 2 washed out games, Sri Lanka will be desperate to get some action and their out-of-form batsmen like Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews will look to get some form going into the business-half of the tournament. Their opening partnership with skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and the attacking Kusal Perera has looked good while Lahiru Thirimanne has to do better.

Bowling

Key Bowlers: Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep, and Suranga Lakmal

Sri Lanka's pace trio will be the key in their bowling due to their lack of a genuine spinner who they can use to attack the batsmen during the middle overs. Lasith Malinga will be the key with his variations, accuracy, and experience while Nuwan Pradeep will look to keep things tight and get some seam movement early on to unsettle the openers.

Suranga Lakmal will be the X-Factor with his expertise with the new ball and he will look to swing the ball early on and cause trouble with his extra pace.

Predicted Playing XI

Dimuth Karunaratne(C), Kusal Perera(WK), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Matthews, Dhanjaya De Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, and Nuwan Pradeep

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