Coverage: Sri Lanka v Australia, first Twenty20 at Pallekele

Fresh from their 4-1 drubbing in the recently concluded five-match One Day International (ODI) series, Sri Lanka will be looking for a change of fortunes in the Twenty20 format in the first game on 6 September.

The hosts who are currently placed eighth in the ICC T20 International rankings with 96 points have struggled in the past and will look at this series to improve upon their position.

They will be missing skipper and key player Angelo Mathews, who is ruled out of the series due to a calf strain he suffered in the fourth game. In his absence, Dinesh Chandimal is expected to shoulder the captaincy, with the hosts going in with a young and inexperienced line-up.

The onus will be on Kusal Mendis and Chandimal to fire with the bat while their unlimited supply of spinners will be expected to gain turn and bounce on surfaces expected to favour the slow bowlers.

Australia put a nightmarish show in the Test series behind them to win the ODI series quite comfortably. Their focus will now be on T20 cricket, but come into the series ravaged by injuries.
Chris Lynn (shoulder), Aaron Finch (finger), Nathan Coulter-Nile (back) and Shaun Marsh (finger) have flown back home and with regular skipper Steve Smith rested, their squad has an unfamiliar look about them.

However, the injuries to players will mean that George Bailey, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade will get a chance to stake their claim for a spot in the side.
Bailey was the standout batsman for Australia in the ODI series while Mitchell Starc, John Hastings and Adam Zampa impressed with the ball.