By Champika Fernando in Dubai

Charith Asalanka had scores of 44, 6, 14 and 6 in his first four T20 internationals, and even during the two practice games in the lead-up to the World Cup – against Oman and Papua New Guinea – he returned scores of 5 and 8.

However, on Sunday, against Bangladesh, he played a career-defining knock, a superlative 80* to chase a record 171, to lead Sri Lanka to a convincing win, ahead of some of the key games in the Super 12 stage of the tournament.

With Sri Lanka today set to take on Australia, their toughest opponent since the start of the tournament, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the 24-year-old, who has a long international career ahead of him, is quietly confident his team is ready for battle. 

“We know they are a better side,” Asalanka conceded. 

“Their strength is seam bowling. We have made plans to counter them and have trained for a couple of days accordingly. We are ready for the game.”

Australia has one of the best seam attacks in this year’s World Cup with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. They are expected to come hard at the inexperienced Sri Lankan batters when the two sides meet. Asalanka will be one batter Sri Lanka will rely heavily on. The Man-of-the-Match on Sunday, Asalanka is now relishing the no. 3 batting slot which he has been playing in since school days.

“During the South African series, I batted at no. 4 and 5, but when Mahela Jayawardena joined the team as a team consultant, he made few changes in the batting order and I was asked to bat at No. 3,” he said. 

“This is where I like to bat as I have done this since my school days.”

Sitting next to Asalanka at the press conference, Coach Mickey Arthur not only complimented him and the rest of the team for improving with each passing day, but he also said the pressure has now been reversed as they have nothing much to lose.

“The qualifiers were tough,” he admitted. 

“There was a lot of pressure on us there. Now the pressure is reversed because we come into this space with not much to lose. We’re playing good cricket. We’re very dangerous. The players are very clear on what their roles are, and we’re confident we can beat anybody on our day.”

“For us, it’s just about us improving all the time,” he maintained. 

“Every time we go out and play, I’ve applauded the players in terms of intensity, in terms of skill, in terms of execution. And the players have been outstanding, and we are improving. For us, it’s about our journey at the moment. It’s not a sprint. Our players are getting better and better.”

Arthur, who has a knack for identifying young talent and backing them to achieve their potential, was impressed by how Asalanka went about his business when Sri Lanka lost a wicket in the opening over of that incredible run chase.

“To see Charith’s development has been incredible,” he said. 

“I remember Charith arriving in our bubble just before we went to England, and then we had the England trip, and to see his journey from England to where he is now is a credit to himself, the way he’s gone about his work, the professionalism he’s shown. His preparation in every game has been fantastic.” From being ‘pushovers’ at the start of the qualifiers, Sri Lanka has now become an outside contender, with most of the top-order batters, barring Kusal Perera, hitting form to complement one of the best bowling and energetic fielding units. Perera, a member of the 2014 World Cup winning team, is yet to fire, but Arthur backs him wholeheartedly as he believes the dashing opener is just an inning away from finding his form. 

 “First of all, the thing that really impressed me was, it was our bowlers that had won us the games because I think we’ve got an incredibly good and balanced attack,” Arthur reflected.  

“It was our bowlers that had won us the games previously. It was our batsmen, very well led by Charith that actually won the game for us against Bangladesh. And that, for me, was fantastic.»

The Australians have done the hard yards during practice to counter the pace threat that is set to come from the Sri Lankan seamers. Both their openers, Aaron Finch and David Warner, have batted against ‘wangers’ (a throwing tool used by coaches) on a polished concrete practice surface in Dubai where balls skid off at great speed.

That will help simulate the extra pace of Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara, who have bowled close to 150kmph during the tournament. Australia beat South Africa in their first fixture and will look to strengthen their hold in the tournament, as they eye the cup that is missing from their trophy cupboard.

Team news

Sri Lanka is set to replace Binura Fernando with Maheesh Theekshana, who sat out the last game following a side strain he sustained during the qualifying round game against the Netherlands, in an otherwise unchanged team. In case Theekshana is unfit to take the field, Akila Dananjaya is likely to fill his place.

“Maheesh will be playing tomorrow, if everything goes well,” Arthur said. 

“We’ve rested him from training yesterday. He’s improved tremendously. So, we’ll warm him up tomorrow and, if everything goes well, he’ll be playing”.

Probable Sri Lanka XI: Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Kusal Janith Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, and/or Maheesh Theekshana/Akila Dananjaya.

Probable Australia XI: Aaron Finch (Captain), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (Vice Captain), Josh Hazlewood, and Adam Zampa. 

West Indies Test cricketers due on 8 Nov.