Tillakaratne Dilshan had his thunder stolen by Glenn Maxwell and Australia in the first T20 international of his farewell series, but the Sri Lanka opener will hope to be on the forefront when the veteran plays his last international match.
After the 2nd T20 in Colombo, Dilshan will retire from the game, having played 87 Test matches, 330 ODIs and 80 Twenty20 internationals, assuming he takes the field on Friday.
Dilshan, has without doubt, given the Sri Lankan fans and supporters from around the world lots of joy with his aggressive batting. A wonder to watch when in full flow, the capacity crowd at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will have one wish for Friday – to be able to witness one final Dilshan special in Sri Lanka colours.
"Look, Dilshan has been a wonderful man," Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford said. "He had just lost the captaincy when I first got involved with the team. He came to Australia and played amazingly well and really committed to the team's cause. I have had wonderful support throughout from him.
"It's wonderful to have his energy and commitment and the vast knowledge that he passes on. It's very sad to see such a legend of the game finally calling it time. For me it's a privilege to have been involved, been able to witness his exploits first-hand. He can be extremely proud of what he has done over the years, and certainly goes down as one of the greats of the game."
Dilshan will also want to retire by helping Sri Lanka to a win. After whitewashing Australia in the Test matches, Sri Lanka have lost their way, losing the ODI series 4-1 and then suffering a humbling defeat in the first T20, when Australia posted the highest ever total in T20 international cricket.
To get that win, Sri Lanka need to bowl a lot better. Leaking runs like they did in the last match, albeit thanks to some brilliant Aussie batting, will only lead to another heavy defeat, something Ford is well aware of.
"In the first T20, there were a lot of balls that were in the areas that Maxwell would want them to be in," Ford added. "We didn't execute properly. We didn't have a superstar like Lasith Malinga in our attack, or someone with more experience. We've thought about a few ways of going about our business differently, but once again it's about execution."
Execution was something that was on the money for Australia in the first T20, and if they can get off to a flier again, there really will be no stopping them. Warner and Maxwell are as scary an opening partnership as you can think of, because if they find their range, there really is very little the bowlers can do.
"When it's a two-match series, you've got to win both of them, so it's important for us to finish the tour well," Australia coach Darren Lehmann said. "I'm pleased with the way we played the other night. It was a fantastic wicket, I must give the curator real credit there, it was an unbelievable wicket. One of the best I've seen."
Where to Watch Live
Sri Lanka vs Australia 2nd T20 is scheduled for a 7 p.m. local time (7 p.m. IST, 11.30 p.m. AEDT, 2.30 p.m. BST) start. TV and live streaming information of Dilshan's last match is below.
India, Sri Lanka, sub continent: TV: Ten 3. Live Streaming: Ten Sports Live.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
USA: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.
South Africa: TV: SuperSport. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
