Kangaroo’s move in for Lion’s annihilation – By Trevine Rodrigo in Melbourne
Lanka’s curators must be scrambling to reverse their preparation of spitting spinning tracks to docile less venom turners in an endeavour to give the technically flawed local batsmen fewer worries against Australia’s superior bowling.
Usually accustomed to terrorising visiting teams in Galle, the Lankans were embarrassed by Australia’s spinning duo, Nathan Lyon and Mitch Shwepson who bamboozled the local batsmen and swing the scales the other way.
To be bowled out in a similar way to a T20 disaster by Australia in the first Test, the Lankans will be smarting about the hopeless capitulation by their batsmen who failed to address a first innings debacle after the Aussies gave them a lesson on defiant fighting batting qualities in their first dig.
Same venue, similar conditions, see Pat Cummins men with their tails up and much more the dictators of a clean sweep which would be a rare success rate on the sub continent after their earlier series win in Pakistan.
Cummins has already reshuffled the pack to include Glen Maxwell as an additional spinning batsmen to ram home their advantage against a Sri Lankan side ridden with Covid, losing three more players after Angelo Matthews pulled out of the second part of the first Test.
Matthews returns to the side after the required isolation, and Sri Lanka’s inclusions for those missing, may well be a better combination to upset the high riding Aussies.
Sri Lanka’s casualties from the first Test is the talented allrounder Dhananjaya De Silva, Jeffrey Vandersay, and paceman Asitha Fernando. While top line spinner Lasith Embuldeniya who bowled poorly has been omitted.
Coming in to replace them is limited over experts Maheesh Theeksheena and teenage prodigy Dinuth Wellelage with Oshada Fernando likely to fill in Dhananjaya De Silva’s spot.
Australia are firm favourites after their ruthless demolition of the Lankans in the first Test which did not make three days.
My gut feeling tells me this game could be another reversal if Sri Lanka’s batsmen find timely form.
