Australia showed their batting and bowling prowess with a massive victory over Afghanistan, and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 co-hosts will now look to lock-up a top-two place in Pool A when they face off against Sri Lanka in Sydney on Sunday.
The Aussies had gone off the boil a little bit after their second match against Bangladesh being abandoned and then losing to New Zealand in that low-scoring thriller, but they returned to the spotlight with a record World Cup score against Afghanistan, as David Warner, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell and the rest made merry.
Sri Lanka will obviously be a different prospect and Australia will hope a capacity crowd at the SCG drives them home as they look for that top-two finish so crucial to avoid the contenders from Pool B.
"We must maintain that same attention to detail against an experienced and talented Sri Lanka at the SCG, a game that will play a huge role in who we play against in the quarterfinals," Australia skipper Michael Clarke wrote in his column for the Daily Telegraph.
"Sri Lanka are high on confidence. They've been playing some really good cricket, scoring a lot of runs and had a wonderful win against England."
The Lankans are high on confidence, thanks largely to the outstanding form of Kumar Sangakkara, who has already scored two centuries in this World Cup – both knocks good enough to be the best in the tournament.
Sangakkara will undoubtedly be the man that Australia will be worried about the most, but with the other three of their top four – Lahiru Thirimanne, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene – also striking centuries at this CWC, the Aussie bowlers will have their work cut out.
However, they will also know if they can cut through that top four, they will have a chance of dismissing Sri Lanka for a low score.
"The Australia bowlers are quick and we have faced lot of quicks in the tournament, so we're excited about the challenge," said Jayawardene. "Mitchell Starc has been bowling well and [Mitchell] Johnson has been great.
"The important thing is that in the last 12-18 months our top order has scored lot of runs. If you take the top ten guys in the world over the last two years we have three or four guys dominating. If you take our middle order, Angelo Mathews has had a terrific 2014 as well, so we are confident."
Even if Australia are playing at home, ironically, the pitch might suit Sri Lanka more with a dry surface greeting the two teams. That means more of a role for the spinners, and Xavier Doherty could get his first game of the World Cup, while Shane Watson, a game after being dropped, might also have a chance to sneak in.
"Looking at the wicket today [and] if we had to play today, the toss would be crucial," said Clarke on Saturday. "But a day of sun on the pitch, and a bit of rolling tomorrow, might be a little bit different.
"Generally under lights at the SCG the ball can skid on a bit more, outfield looks magnificent so think it's going to be a fast outfield, it's just how much the wicket slows up and that'll be dictated by how hard the pitch is tomorrow, I think.
"If we turn up tomorrow and the wicket is rock hard, I think it'll be a really consistent pitch for both teams. If it's still a bit tacky like it's today then I'd really want to bat first if I was playing today.
"It looks like spin is going to play a part. Looks quite dry and certainly hasn't got as much grass on it as I've seen in past one-day matches at the SCG."
Where to Watch Live
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Australia vs Sri Lanka at the SCG is scheduled for a 2.30 pm local time (12 pm IST, 6.30 am GMT, 1.30 am ET) start with live TV coverage on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 in India. The live streaming options are Starsports.com and Star Sports Live Pro.
Viewers in Sri Lanka can also catch the action on Star Sports and Star Sports online. Viewers in Australia can catch the game live on Channel 9 and Fox Sports, while the match can also be live streamed on Foxtel and Cricket Australia Live or by downloading the Cricket Australia Live App.
New Zealand viewers can watch the match on Sky TV and live stream it on Sky Go NZ. Audience in the USA can catch the game live on ESPN and live online on ESPN Cricket, while UK viewers can do the same on Sky Sports and Watch Sky Sports.
