It has been a while since two away sides played an international match on Australian soil. With the triangular series format being reintroduced, India and Sri Lanka, the sides in the last triangular series as well, come head-to-head in the second match of the Commonwealth Bank Series on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka have had a forgettable year ever since they reached the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup in April last year. They have failed to win a single series, with the only bright spot being their maiden test match win in South Africa.
This stretch of poor results has cost Tillakaratne Dilshan his captaincy. Mahela Jayawardene, who himself has underperformed lately, has been elevated to captain’s role as he aims to bring back the winning ways. Geoff Marsh has also been sacked as coach and has replaced by former South African coach Graham Ford.
For India the miserable tour is nowhere near its end for them. The only success came in the second T20 match but that too did not bring any massive changes in fortune, as they succumbed to a 61-run defeat against Australia in the opening match of the triangular series.
The match was cut short by rain, but India will be alarmed at the performance of their slow bowlers who were taken for plenty of runs. Only Vinay Kumar, the fast bowler, ended up with reasonable figures that included three wickets. Similarly, the batsmen will look to improve on their showing from Sunday when they were bundled out inside 30 overs.
The team management will be discussing the importance of not throwing away wickets after getting a good start. With hype around Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th century dying down, it would not be surprising if the batting maestro scores a timely ton to enter record books.
Both teams will be going into the match hoping to put behind all their miseries and striving for a new beginning. The match will be played at WACA Perth, starting at 12.20pm local time.