Australia vs Sri Lanka 1st T20I: Prediction and Betting Tips.

Free predictions and betting picks for Australia vs Sri Lanka – 1st T20I

Bookmaker Ratings prediction one: Glenn Maxwell Top Australia Batter @ 4.50 at William Hill
Bookmaker Ratings prediction two: Adam Zampa Top Australia Bowler @ 3.75 at William Hill

The World T20 Champions are back in action

Friday’s match is Australia’s first since lifting the T20 World Cup in November. Sri Lanka arrive in Sydney as the embark on their first trip to Australia since October 2019.

With controversy surrounding Justin Langer’s recent departure as Australia’s head coach, life begins again for the current T20 World Cup champions. They will be under the stewardship of interim replacement Andrew McDonald.

The five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka will see the Sydney Cricket Ground host the first two matches. The teams then play once at the Manuka Oval in Canberra before contesting the final two matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Matches were moved out of Queensland and South Australia to reduce travel in light of rising COVID-19 cases.

Australia vs Sri Lanka Key Facts

• Australia enter the series having won their last four T20Is against Sri Lanka on Australian soil
• The visitors had won their first five T20Is in Australia before the reversal in fortunes
• The two teams have met in 17 T20Is with Australia leading the H2Hs 9-8
• Australia beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets en route to their T20 World Cup success
• In the 2019 T20I series in Australia, the hosts won 3-0 to claim their only home series win against Sri Lanka
• In 2017 Sri Lanka won 2-1 Down Under, 2-0 in 2013 and 1-0 in 2010.

Australia too strong despite recent upheaval

An Australian head coach losing his job after securing a 4-0 Ashes success and winning the T20 World Cup is unheard of. In this instance, it came as no surprise. There had been rumblings throughout the recent Test series against England that players were not keen on Langer’s intensity. They wanted a fresh approach.

Langer’s departure has seen many members of that great Aussie side of the turn of the century coming out in force to back their former teammate. It’s fair to say that Langer has reason to grumble. One thing is beyond debate – Langer left his country in strong and confident shape. They are however far too short to back to beat Sri Lanka.

Australia start big to retain world crown

The new cycle beyond a major tournament is unlikely to prove momentous for Australia. A year’s delay in staging the 2020 T20 World Cup means the next competition is only a matter of months away. Consequently, stalwarts like captain Aaron Finch and batters Steve Smith and David Warner will remain in the side, although Warner misses this series as he takes a bio-bubble break.

Mitch Marsh is also rested for the series, but Josh Hazlewood returns after missing the final four Ashes tests with a side strain.

Warner’s absence does give the likes of Ben McDermott, Josh Inglis & Moises Henriques an opportunity to stake a claim after decent seasons in the Big Bash League.

Australia squad: Aaron Finch, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Josh Inglis, Daniel Sams, Ben McDermott, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

Who steps up to fill David Warner’s shoes?

David Warner is the leading run-scorer for Australia against Sri Lanka and will be a big miss at the top of the order. The left-hander has belted 512 runs in 13 matches at 56.88 with one century and five fifties.

Glenn Maxwell is next on the list with 286 T20I runs against Sri Lanka. The ‘Big Show’ comes into the series fresh from scoring the highest individual score in Big Bash history. The Melbourne Stars captain reached his century in 41 balls and finished unbeaten on 154. It was the second-fastest century in the BBL and was hot on the heels of his 513 runs in 15 IPL 2021 matches for RCB.

The in-form 33-year-old all-rounder is a strong play for leading batter in each of the five matches of this series. He is always interesting in the Player of the Match markets.

In-form Adam Zampa to get among the wickets

Adam Zampa is the leading T20I wicket-taker for Australia against Sri Lanka with 16 in eight games at just 10.62 apiece. Zampa was unfortunate to lose out on Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup after his 13 wickets at 12.07 came at a miserly economy rate of 5.81.

Watch the Toss

In the last seven T20Is played by Australia the team batting second have won them all.

Any hope for Sri Lanka?

• Sri Lanka have lost 10 of their last 12 bi-lateral T20I series
• In eight of the ten series defeats they did not win a match
• In 2019 their 3-0 series loss to Australia saw them drubbed by 134 runs, nine wickets and seven wickets!
• Kusal Mendis misses the first two matches after a positive Covid-19 test.

Sri Lanka must hit the ground running if the series is going to be competitive. Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka have made a promising start to life as Sri Lankan batters. They have a combined nine scores of 40-plus from 20 innings.

Avishka Fernando is under pressure after posting a top score of 37 from his 28 career T20I innings. Dushmantha Chameera is also under the pump after taking more than one wicket only once in his last 13 T20Is.

Sri Lanka will do well to avoid an unwanted record. They have never lost five T20Is in a row on away soil against any one opponent. A defeat in Sydney on Friday changes that.

Sri Lanka are in 8th position in the ICC T20I Rankings and only two places behind Australia. In reality, the gap is far wider. Australia are world champions and their visitors will do well to lay a glove on them.

Sri Lanka squad: Dasun Shanaka (c), Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Ramesh Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamil Mishara, Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Thushara, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Shiran Fernando.