Michael Clarke is riding a crest this season. He has been tactically stimulating, can inspire his men and lead by personal example. Pitted against Clarke in the third game of Commonwealth Bank ODI triangular series here on Friday will be an old fox.
Mahela Jayawardene is an inventive captain who can create opportunities. Pro-active, he is alive to the changing shades of a contest. By his lofty standards, Jayawardene had an ordinary game here on Wednesday against the Indians. Not picking a specialist spinner and going in with an all-pace attack was a flawed strategy that came back to haunt him and his team as the match progressed.
Given that the only way Sri Lanka could have won the match against India would have been to attack more, Jayawardene was in no man's land with his field placements. He was neither aggressive nor defensive and allowed the game to drift.
But then, this was Jayawardene's first game as skipper after taking over the reins again during difficult times for his country's cricket team. There is plenty of time to make amends.
High-risk ploy?
Jayawardene has embarked on a high-risk ploy ahead of Friday's game. By declaring that the Sri Lankan batsmen could target the Australian pace attack — he indirectly suggested there were chinks in the line-up — the Sri Lankan captain was, in effect, showing the red rag to the bull.
Now, Australia, despite injury concerns and the need to provide rest to its premier pacemen, possesses the depth and the firepower in these conditions. The host's pacemen can blow away opponents as the Indians found out in the Melbourne ODI.
And Jayawardene was now provoking these pacemen. Perhaps, he wanted them to veer away from their successful game-plan — where precision and controlled aggression formed the back-bone — and attempt to bowl quick without accuracy. Then, the Sri Lankan batsmen could take advantage.
Australia is likely to retain the pace trio of Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc and Clint McKay with all-rounder Daniel Christian backing up as the fourth seamer. Xavier Doherty, the steady left-arm spinner, is expected to retain his place.
The pitch here should offer speed, carry and movement to the pacemen. But, as we saw at the WACA on Wednesday, there could be a fair amount of purchase for the spinners as well.
Forrest may play
Australia with five points, including a bonus from its first game against India, could make one change. The team-management appears keen to provide an opportunity to Queensland batsman Peter Forrest, either at the top of the order or in the middle order, and one of the specialist batsmen could be rested.
Sri Lanka is likely to bring in left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for batsman Lahiru Thirimanne. Herath could provide much needed variety to the side's bowling.
Pace spearhead Lasith Malinga will have to lift the levels of his bowling. He appeared rather flat against the Indians, operating without the fire and aggression of old. Worse, his swinging yorkers were hardly visible.
Sri Lanka has a few other areas to improve upon. The side needs to pace its innings better — the Lankans got bogged down in the middle overs against the Indian spinners and could never regain momentum.
In Dinesh Chandimal, the side has a fine prospect. Much of the side's chances would depend on this wicket-keeper batsman and the experienced Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Of course, the ebullient Tillakaratne Dilshan will be the X factor.
The islanders have another match-winner in all-rounder Angelo Mathews. He lends balance to the side, whether taking on the bowlers and dismissing the ball to the far corners of the ground or sending down his off-cutters with deadly precision.
This said, the Australian batsmen could relish the extra bounce at the WACA. If the explosive David Warner plays, he could revive memories of the Test match when the Indians chased leather.
Sri Lanka does not have a point after its only game but things could change in this unique tri-series with a lengthy league phase. History, however, is against Sri Lanka at the WACA. It has not defeated Australia in eight previous meetings between the sides here in the ODIs.
The teams:
Australia (from): M. Clarke (capt.), D. Warner, M. Wade, R. Ponting, M. Hussey, D. Hussey, D. Christian, P. Forrest, C. McKay, R. Harris, X. Doherty, M. Starc, B. Hilfenhaus and M. Marsh.
Sri Lanka: M. Jayawardene (capt.), T. Dilshan, U. Tharanga, K. Sangakkara, D. Chandimal, A. Mathews, T. Perera, N. Kulasekara, L. Malinga, R. Herath, C. Welegedara, D. Prasad, L. Thirimanne, F. Maharoof and S. Senanayake.
Play starts at 9.50 a.m. IST
