After a huge win against India at home in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia have one final series to play before they face South Africa in the 2025 World Test Championship final.
With captain Pat Cummins out injured, Australia will have their talisman Steve Smith leading them against Sri Lanka as they look to fix all the chinks in their armour ahead of the WTC Final.
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Sri Lanka vs Australia 1st Test | Australia tour of Sri Lanka 2025 | 10:00 IST, January 29, 2025
With Steve Smith leading the squad, Travis Head will be his deputy and has confirmed he will also move to the top of the order for the series in the Subcontinent. Australia have the experienced Usman Khawaja along with the young Sam Konstas and Nathan McSweeney at the top of the order. Marnus Labuschange will be under the spotlight after going through a lean patch recently, with Alex Carey and Josh Inglis taking up the glove work.
With Cameron Green still not match-fit, the visitors will be looking at Beau Webster to step up with both bat and ball, while Nathan Lyon will be key in Sri Lanka as the lead spinner along with Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann. Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland will be serving as the lead seamers.
The hosts, on the other hand, have all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva leading an experienced batting lineup, which includes the likes of Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, and Kusal Mendis, all of whom will be expected to step up against the Australian attack. The talented Kamindu Mendis and de Silva will be the key all-rounders, while Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando will be the two main seamers. Sri Lanka have a strong spin trio as well, which includes Prabath Jayasuriya, Jeffrey Vandersay, and the exciting Nishan Peiris.
The Galle strip generally brings out a ton of runs, which should be expected given the experienced batting lineups on both sides. It will also have plenty of assistance for the spinners, so count on the spinners on both sides to do well as well in a big run fest. Although the hosts might have home advantage, Australia are the favourites for us in this encounter, which should be a close and tight affair.
Fantasy XI: Dimuth Karunaratne, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Angleo Mathews, Alex Carey, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc
Venue: Galle
Winners Prediction: Australia
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