Six-time T20 World Cup champions Australia faced Sri Lanka in their tournament opener in Sharjah, with Sri Lanka opting to bat first. The match marked Sri Lanka’s second in less than 48 hours, having lost their opener to Pakistan.
Despite the slow and dry surface, Australia surprised by selecting an extra seamer, Darcie Brown, instead of Grace Harris or Alana King. They still retained four spin options in Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Phoebe Litchfield, and Ashleigh Gardner.
Sri Lanka made one change to their XI, bringing back experienced left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera in place of Sachini Nisansala. Their batting lineup, which struggled to 85 runs against Pakistan, remained unchanged.
Australia’s Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, and Ellyse Perry formed the top order, while Sri Lanka’s Vishmi Gunaratne and Chamari Athapaththu opened the batting.
The match was played on a surface with more green grass than the previous day’s strip, which could potentially favor the seamers. Sri Lanka had never defeated Australia in a T20I, making this a significant challenge for them.
