Sri Lanka look to surprise defending champions Australia

Entering the better half of the tournament with every game being of vital significance, one would expect the competitiveness to be top notch. With just two spots in each group up for grabs, each match hereafter counts.

While Australia will come into the Group A clash of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 on Thursday (Match 24) wounded after having been hammered by New Zealand women by a comfortable six-wicket margin in their second game, Sri Lanka are coming off their first win in the competition - and their first in the last 10 T20Is - after beating Ireland by 14 runs. But, the catch is here - both these teams have never played a Twenty20 International against each other prior to this.

Shashikala Siriwardene's absence meant that Chamari Atapattu was handed over the reins of the team. The added responsibility seemed to have worked well for her, finally having gotten some runs under her belt as she raced away to a 22-ball 34 against Ireland. Atapattu, who is a vital cog in Sri Lanka's top order being out of touch in the last few series was hurting the team. Her peaking right before an important clash bodes well for the side.

In addition, Eshani Lokusuriyage, who was struggling a bit with the bat, scored a 35 and got going against Ireland too. However, Sri Lanka's 129 against Ireland came on the back of just three batters reaching double figures, will be a cause of concern for the team that is up against a strong Australian bowling attack.

Australia's top four collectively managed to score just two runs against New Zealand in their last game and failed against South Africa in their opener as well. Ellyse Perry's heroics with the bat wasn't enough to help Australia post a strong enough total to defend. The top order's failure could be Sri Lanka's cue to bowl well at the start and derail their innings.

With two frail top orders going against each other, it will be up to which team's batters showcase composure at the start and set up a good total. Given that neither side has ever faced the other before, the contest is one with a lot of unknown premises.

When: Australia Women vs Sri Lanka Women, 24 March, Group A - 03:00 PM IST

Where: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

What to expect: With neither team having faced each other before this clash, a bunch of surprises await.

Team News:

Australia

Australia have no injury concerns coming into the clash, which is a vital one for them with the final four in view.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka will be without the services of their regular captain Shashikala Siriwardene, who has been ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury. Chamari Atapattu, who led them against Ireland, will be carrying the reigns of the side in her absence.

Did you know:

- This is the first time Australia Women are playing Sri Lanka Women in a T20I match.

- The only two teams to beat Australia in World T20 are England and New Zealand. Against the rest, Australia lead 13-0.

- Australia have lost 7 out of their last 11 T20Is. In the 16 T20Is prior to that, they won all 16.

-Sri Lanka's win in their last match was their first one in last 10 T20Is.

- Meg Lanning needs four boundaries to become the first player in Women's T20Is to hit 200 fours.

- Ellyse Perry's 26 wickets is the most for a bowler in World T20Is.

Squads:

Australia Women: Meg Lanning (C), Kristen Beams, Sarah Coyte, Holly Ferling, Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Elyse Villani, Alex Blackwell, Lauren Cheatle, Rene Farrell, Jess Jonassen, Erin Osborne, Megan Schutt, Nicola Carey

Sri Lanka Women: Shashikala Siriwardene (C), Nilakshi de Silva, Ama Kanchana, Eshani Lokusuriyage, Harshitha Madavi, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoka Ranaweera, Prasadani Weerakkody, Chamari Atapattu, Nipuni Hansika, Hansima Karunaratne, Sugandika Kumari, Yasoda Mendis, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Dilani Manodara