Australia and Sri Lanka will hope to break their 2023 Cricket World Cup duck when they face off in match 14 of 48 at the Ekana Sports City in Lucknow on Monday morning.
Having lost their first two matches, both these sides will know that there is no more room for error and will have to treat every game from here on as a knockout match.
Match preview
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It is hard to believe that there is a very good chance that a Cricket World Cup competition could head into the knockout rounds without the five-time champions being a part of the mix, yet that could be the case unless Australia can pull off a comeback.
The Baggy Greens have suffered the worst start to the competition that they could have imagined, starting with a six-wicket loss to India in their opening match.
While losing to India on their home soil may not have been a massive concern, the alarm bells certainly began sounding in their second game when they were completely outplayed by South Africa, losing the match by a whopping 134 runs.
The biggest concern for the Aussies in this competition has been with bat in hand as none of the big names in their top order have managed to deliver a really good knock - in fact, we are yet to see a half-century scored by any Baggy Green batsman in this year's CWC.
They now set their sights on a Sri Lankan side that earned a 3-2 series win over them the last time they met, and based on their opponents' performances over the first two games, Pat Cummins's side is going to need to pull out all the stops or their chances of making the knockout stages could be as good as over before the halfway mark of the competition.
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Meanwhile, despite losing their first two matches, you have to spare a thought for Sri Lanka, as it took two record-breaking performances from their opponents to overcome them in those games.
In their tournament opener, they came up against a solid-looking South Africa team that scored 428/5 in their 50 overs, which is now the record score in World Cup competition, and while Sri Lanka could not chase down the mammoth total, they did score 326, which would likely have been a winning tally on another day.
Three days later, they took on Pakistan and delivered another excellent performance with the bat, setting a target of 345, but the Men in Green managed to chase that down, and in doing so, they recorded the highest-ever run-chase at a CWC.
While Sri Lanka's batting unit have been very good so far, they will need to improve with the ball in hand as they have only taken nine wickets over their last two matches.
Still, having beaten this opponent last June, and considering the struggles the Aussies are having right now, the Lions will fancy their chances of defying the odds by pulling off their first win of the tournament in this one.
Team News
Fair to say, Australia are not the same without Usman Khawaja at the top of the innings, and their attempt to move Mitchell Marsh into that role has not worked yet, as he has only managed to score seven runs in the competition so far.
That could prompt Cummins to consider bringing in the likes of Travis Head, which could allow Marsh to drop into the middle order, where he has excelled over the last few months.
Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner have all made decent starts in the last two matches and should keep their place in the side, although the pressure will be on them to deliver a big innings in this one.
Sri Lanka have certainly missed the services of leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva, who was ruled out just before the start of the World Cup due to a hamstring injury.
Matheesha Pathirana went for 90 runs in his nine overs in the last match, and Dasun Shanaka may look to give Kasun Rajitha a chance in this one as the first change bowling option.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc
Sri Lanka squad: Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka
Series so far
Australia
Match One: Australia lost by 6 wickets
Australia - 199 (49.3)
India - 201/4 (41.2)
Match Two: Australia lost by 134 runs
South Africa - 351/7 (50)
Australia - 177 (40.5)
Sri Lanka
Match One: Sri Lanka lost by 102 runs
South Africa - 428/5 (50)
Sri Lanka - 326 (44.5)
Match Two: Sri Lanka lost by 6 wickets
Sri Lanka - 344/9 (50)
Pakistan - 345/4 (48.2)
We say: Australia to win
While Australia have been far from their best in this tournament so far, it feels like just a matter of time until they find top gear. Against a Sri Lankan bowling attack that has been rather tame in this competition, this could be the match we see the Baggy Greens resume business as usual. We are backing the Aussies to win this one.
Devesh Jaganath
