Last Updated on 2 weeks by Charbel Coorey

SL vs AUS 1st T20 Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible 11 Pitch Report | SL vs AUS 1st T20 Dream11 Prediction Today | Sri Lanka vs Australia 1st T20 Key Players | Colombo Pitch Report

Australia’s action-packed 2022/23 schedule gets underway with a good test in Sri Lanka, as the T20 World Cup champions will aim to find their groove ahead of their title defence at home.

A key part of that is Aaron Finch and Steve Smith finding form, as both players are arguably under most pressure with the likes of Josh Inglis and Tim David pushing their claims for a regular spot in Australia’s T20I team in the future. It is particularly important for Finch to rediscover his touch, as strings of low scores across multiple series now has raised concerns about whether the Aussies need a new captain ahead of the World Cup.

Finch is hoping to “get people off his back“, and if he does, Australia will be well placed. It will be a challenge in Sri Lanka though, as a number of Sri Lanka’s bowlers have gained good experience playing in the IPL. Wanindu Hasaranga was outstanding for RCB, while Dushmantha Chameera and Maheesh Theekshana enjoyed good moments for LSG and CSK respectively.

However, the challenge for Sri Lanka will be for their batting to click against Australia’s array of seam bowlers, particularly given the home side struggled on this ground last year.

SL vs AUS 1st T20 Possible Playing 11

Matheesha Pathirana made headlines in the IPL with his Malinga-like action. It remains to be seen if he gets the nod in this match.

Sri Lanka: 1. Pathum Nissanka, 2. Danushka Gunathilaka, 3. Charith Asalanka, 4. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 5. Kusal Mendis (wk), 6. Dasun Shanaka (c), 7. Wanindu Hasaranga, 8. Chamika Karunaratne, 9. Ramesh Mendis/Matheesha Pathirana, 10. Dushmantha Chameera, 11. Maheesh Theekshana

Australia have confirmed their XI for the first T20I against Sri Lanka. Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa are unavailable for this T20I series (details here).

Australia: 1. Aaron Finch (c), 2. David Warner, 3. Mitchell Marsh, 4. Glenn Maxwell, 5. Steve Smith, 6. Marcus Stoinis, 7. Matthew Wade (wk), 8. Ashton Agar, 9. Mitchell Starc, 10. Kane Richardson, 11. Josh Hazlewood

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Sri Lanka:

• Wanindu Hasaranga is crucial to Sri Lanka’s hopes. The brilliant leg-spinner is coming off a brilliant IPL campaign, where he took the second-most wickets by a spinner in a single season (26). Also, he has figures of 3/38, 2/33 and 2/22 in his three T20Is vs Australia.
• Hasaranga has taken 22 wickets in 16 T20s on this ground at an average of 16.09 and economy of 6.34.
• Pathum Nissanka scored the most runs (184) in Sri Lanka’s five-match T20I series in Australia earlier this year.
• Bhanuka Rajapaksa has a poor record on this ground (16 inns, 297 runs, avg. 18.56, SR 132.59), but comes into this series on the back of a promising IPL campaign where he struck 206 runs at a strike rate of 159.68.
• Maheesh Theekshana will be key, especially if he bowls in the powerplay. He took six wickets in this phase in the recent IPL, and took five wickets in five matches in Australia at an economy of just 6.78 earlier this year.
• Also, Theekshana has a good T20 record on this ground. He has taken 14 wickets in 10 matches at R. Premadasa at an average of 18.07 and economy of 6.49.
• Dushmantha Chameera was Sri Lanka’s leading wicket-taker in Australia a few months ago (seven scalps in five matches). Also, he has the third-most wickets of any bowler in T20s on this ground (25 inns, 29 wickets, avg. 23.48, SR 16.79).

Australia:

• David Warner has the most runs in SL-AUS T20Is. The left-hander, who had a strong IPL campaign, has smashed 512 runs in 13 matches vs SL at an average of 56.88 and strike rate of 138.75. This includes six 50+ scores.
• Glenn Maxwell is not far behind with 424 runs in 10 innings vs SL at a superb average of 60.87 and strike rate of 181.19. Maxwell also has four wickets against SL, and he could be key against their left-handers today.
• Mitchell Marsh has had a dream run in T20s since the start of 2021. Australia’s number three has struck 1,432 runs at an average of 39.78 and strike rate of 138.09 in this period.
• Watch out for Ashton Agar. He has the ability to take big wickets, evident in his two five-wicket hauls in T20Is since the start of 2020. He has taken six wickets in as many T20Is vs Sri Lanka at an economy of just 4.62.
• Josh Hazlewood continues to go from strength to strength in T20s. He has eight wickets in four matches vs Sri Lanka (avg. 11.37, econ. 5.68), and recently took 20 wickets in 12 matches in IPL 2022.
• Mitchell Starc will be key at the death. The left-arm quick has taken 11 wickets in nine matches vs SL at an average of 23.63 and economy of 7.22. Also, Starc has taken 11 wickets in seven T20s on this ground (avg. 17.82, econ. 7.00).

Other Stats and Facts

• Head-to-head: Matches 22, Sri Lanka 9, Australia 13.
• Australia have won nine of the last 10 matches between the teams, but Sri Lanka won the most recent meeting.
• Wanindu Hasaranga has dismissed Glenn Maxwell twice in 18 deliveries in T20Is (33 runs). He also has a brilliant record against Aaron Finch, whom he has dismissed three times (15 balls, 19 runs, three dismissals).
• Kane Richardson has 10 wickets in seven matches vs Sri Lanka at an average of 20.00 and economy of 7.50.
• Aaron Finch was player of the match in his last T20I, against Pakistan.
• Glenn Maxwell smashed 145* and 66 in the 2016 tour of Sri Lanka. He opened the batting in that series.

R. Premadasa Stadium Colombo Pitch Report and Weather

Australia captain Aaron Finch said that the decision to go with more pacers was due to the amount of grass on the square due to recent rain (details here).

In six T20 Internationals in July and September last year, the average first innings score was just 127.17, with spin playing a key role in those matches. The chasing team won four of those six matches, but lost both games where the team batting first scored above 160.

According to AccuWeather, there is likely to be thunderstorms throughout the day and evening in Colombo.

SL vs AUS 1st T20 Dream11 Prediction 7 June 2022

Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article as well as your own instincts to create your teams.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Fan2Play Prediction

Base team:

• Wicket-keepers: Bhanuka Rajapaksa
• Batsmen: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh
• All-rounders: Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga
• Bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera

Match Prediction

Weather permitting, Australia should win this match.