Captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out of the Champions Trophy with respective injuries. Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green are yet to recover and interestingly, Marcus Stoinis announced ODI retirement, despite being named in the 15-member squad. Mitchell Starc, the senior-most pacer in the squad, also pulled out of the tournament, citing personal issues.
Despite missing several of their first-team cricketers, Australia had a terrific start to the first ODI against Sri Lanka at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Spencer Johnson and Aaron Hardie capitalized on the new ball as the hosts were reduced to 55/5 at one stage. Australia were dominating the Sri Lankan side and at one point, it didn’t seem they were missing the senior cricketers.
However, that’s when the complexion of the game changed and the Lankan Lions slowly started to script a comeback. Captain Charith Asalanka rose to the occasion, playing a scintillating knock of 127 runs off 126 deliveries. Adam Zampa, the most experienced bowler in the Australian camp was handed the ball for six overs and the spinner conceded 32 runs. Dunith Wellalage supported the captain with 30 runs as Sri Lanka posted 214 runs in the first innings.
Australia benched Travis Head from the first ODI as Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk opened the batting for the visitors. The openers struggled, scoring 0 and 2 respectively, while batting at number three, Copper Connolly scored three. Smith batted at number four, scoring 12, followed by Marnus Labuschagne scoring 15 and Alex Carey 41. None of the Australian batters could capitalize on their starts.
The Sri Lankan spinners did a commendable job as Australian batters looked clueless in the middle. Maheesh Theekshana clinched four wickets as the Kangaroos were bundled for only 165 runs. Ahead of the Champions Trophy, it’s a massive reason for concern for the Australian team. Sri Lanka, who are not part of the marquee tournament, will be hoping to build on that momentum and pick up another win in the second ODI to seal the series.
