The first innings of Australia and Sri Lanka’s match was quite eventful, to say the least. The Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium, Ekana was baking under the relentless heat of the midday sun. After winning the toss, Sri Lanka decided to bat first, but as the day wore on, the weather stepped in with a twist that was eerily reflective of Australia’s shifting fortunes.
The Afternoon’s relentless heat gave way to a surprising calm as the stadium was shrouded in cool, soft breezes. However, just when you thought you had the weather figured out, strong winds blew in from nowhere, surprising both sides and throwing their game plans for a loop. Even the spectators were not spared. The new brandings on the roof skirting started to fall off with one of them falling perilously close to the spectators in one of the stands. For the second innings, the entire lower tier stands were evacuated with spectators with spectators asked to move to the second tier.
The stormy conditions were symbolic of the game’s ups and downs. After a promising start, Sri Lanka’s game was derailed not by Australia’s efforts but by their own mistakes. Australia would be happy with what they managed though- to bundle out Sri Lanka for 209.
A Fiery Start
The official broadcasters said the same pitch that was used for the Australia-South Africa fixture is being used for the Australia-Sri Lanka game at the Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium, Ekana, Lucknow, on Monday, but that was not the case. It was the adjacent strip with the red soil base that was used and the bounce on that track was visible when Mitchell Starc hit one back of the length and the wicketkeeper Josh Inglis had to jump high to gather it with some trouble.
And Sri Lanka would have liked that – after all they won the toss and elected to bat first hoping to put Australian batters under pressure, batting second at this venue. Their first outing vs SA was a forgettable one. Early wickets were the need of the hour and Mitchell Starc started off firing a Yorker at Pathum Nissanka’s boots. A loud appeal ensued and a review followed. First ball! And wasted!
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Australia’s desperation was visible with that review call. Nissanka survived and flourished. So did Kusal Perera and once again Australia fell flat with their opening spell as Sri Lanka cantered to 51/0 in the first 10 overs, and then 114/0 in 20.
Stand-in skipper Kusal Mendis during the pre-match press conference had mentioned that Perera’s lack of runs is not a worry. He has been given a specific role and he deserves a long rope. After battling injuries for the last two years, Perera has been playing only his 5th ODI today since July 2021, but first, we forget that this hard-hitter opener was one time Sri Lanka’s great hope and once the white-ball captain as well. And with a knock of 78, he reminded everyone what he could do. Along with Nissanka, the SL pair blunted a very flat Australian attack. While Starc, has shown some aggression early on, there are far too many overpitched deliveries for Nissanka and Perera to feast, Nissanka has been in top form providing Sri Lanka with good starts at the top and he continued in the same vein. Compact player with a flair to hit on the up, drove Starc beautifully twice, and when Adam Zampa was introduced as early as the 14th over, he got on top of the spinner as well.
Perera, on the other hand, was brutal to anything with width, unleashing that Sanath Jayasuriya-esque offside game. By the time the century stand had come up, Pat Cummins had already bowled his five bowling options. And only Glenn Maxwell looked the threatening of the lot.
The Collapse Ensues
Australia had to do something and they changed up the length Marcus Stoinis bent his back for one to rise and Perera copped one flush to his helmet. Hazelwood followed suit, so did Cummins and that brought the wicket. Nissanka took on a Cummins short one but found a diving David Warner at deep mid. Two overs later, Cummins got just enough movement off the helpless pitch to breach Perera’s defence. The procession then followed. Stand-in skipper Kusal Mendis who has been in excellent form looked to be aggressive just a bit too early and paid the price handing Zampa his first of the four wickets he would take. Again, Zampa erred on the shorter side, and Mendis could not time his slog sweep. Warner with another superb take. Sadeera Samarawickrama’s fall in the 30th over to Zampa – a well-disguised slider that fooled the right-hander.
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Rain halted play for 29 minutes and three deliveries after the play resumed, Starc, struck to remove Dhananjaya de Silva with a back-of-a-length delivery. From 125/0, SL had succumbed to 178/5, Five wickets for 53 runs. Their next five went even more quickly – a mere 31 runs. Looking back Sri Lanka would know they missed out on an opportunity to have Australia under the pump. Even though this is a different pitch, with two rain delays and the pressure of chasing and being 0-2 down, they could have had the timid Australian batting line-up under the pump with their spinners had the score been stretched to 250. Not to be though, and SL are still in with a chance; for Australia, how Starc came out blazing with the ball, expect the same with the bat.
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