Sri Lanka up against history as mighty Aussies arrive in Colombo

Sri Lanka and Australia have faced each other 11 times in Women's ODIs and 8 more times in the T20 format. On every single occasion, Australia have triumphed. The last time they met in ODIs was six years ago when Sri Lanka got absolutely thrashed in an away series in Brisbane. History is clearly against them! In an ideal world, Sri Lanka would have preferred a different opponent for their first ever World Cup match at home but the schedule hasn't been kind for them in this tournament with the two favourites India and Australia facing them right at the start.

These two teams have arrived in Colombo having made contrasting starts in the campaign. Sri Lanka put themselves in a very good position initially against India in the tournament opener before losing their way and eventually succumbing quite comfortably. Australia on the other hand, were rescued big time by Ashleigh Gardner in their first game against New Zealand and the defending champions eventually redeemed themselves from a precarious position to pick up a massive win.

Any chance Sri Lanka might have at stretching Australia will depend on how spin friendly the surface is. If the track is indeed slow, Sri Lanka's spinners will fancy their chances at keeping Australia to a par score but the defending champions have quality spinners in their ranks as well.

If the home side manages to give a good account of themselves irrespective of the result, it will keep them in good stead with four more matches remaining at the same venue for the women in blue. For Australia, it will all be about continuing their dominance and leaving Colombo with four points given they will also be facing a rattled Pakistan outfit at the same venue after a three-day break.

When: Sri Lanka vs Australia, October 4, 3:00 PM local time (IST)

Where: R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

What to expect:Going by the scores witnessed in the recent games, scoring runs will not be straightforward. Spinners won the player of the match award the last time the Bangladesh Men's outfit faced their Sri Lankan counterparts in an ODI and a T20I recently. And the Bangladesh Women's side bowled Pakistan out for just 129 yesterday.

Team News

Sri Lanka

Despite the loss to India, Sri Lanka will likely stick with the same combination.

Probable XI: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoka Ranaweera

Australia

If the surface is on the drier side, it will be interesting to see if Australia contemplate including Georgia Wareham.

Probable XI: Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Alana King, Kim Garth, Darcie Brown/Georgia Wareham

What they said:

Venue is really good for us because we are playing in our home soil. So we know this condition better than everyone. And last few months, we're training here and we know the conditions. But the thing is, the most important thing, we have to execute our right plan, right time. - Chamari Athapaththu, Sri Lanka captain

I think their opening bowlers pose a threat, but I think their spin attack is where their work gets done. They've got four spinners that are completely different to each other. And I think coming out here and seeing how it spins, that'll probably be the biggest threat to us. - Phoebe Litchfield, Australia opener