BRISBANE, Oct 30 (AFP) – Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat in the second Twenty20 against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane on Wednesday.
The home team won the first match emphatically in Adelaide on Sunday, thrashing the visitors by 134 runs with David Warner smashing a century.
It was Australia’s biggest-ever win in the format and Sri Lanka’s heaviest T20 defeat.
The Gabba pitch is expected to offer more bounce than Adelaide, which should play in Australia’s favour.
But they are without pace spearhead Mitchell Starc, who is skipping the match to attend his brother’s wedding, with Billy Stanlake drafted in as his replacement.
Australia are otherwise unchanged.
“I was leaning towards batting first. But there feels like there’s some dew around in the last half-an-hour,” said skipper Aaron Finch. “Bowling first, I’m not too disappointed.”
Defeat in Adelaide was a tough pill to swallow for Sri Lanka, who arrived in Australia on the back of a 3-0 series win, with a second-string side, against Pakistan.
They have made three changes with Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando and Kasun Rajitha all omitted, with Avishka Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella and Isuru Udana replacing them.
“We want to show our character today,” Sri Lanka skipper Lasith Malinga said at the toss.
After Brisbane, Australia face the visitors in Melbourne on Friday before Pakistan arrive for T20s in Sydney, Canberra and Perth.
Australia: Aaron Finch (capt), David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Billy Stanlake, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa
Sri Lanka: Avishka Fernando, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Niroshan Dickwella, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Lasith Malinga (capt), Isuru Udana
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