Sri Lanka will look for a dominant win and a return of their mojo when they take on familiar opponents in Bangladesh in an ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Pool A match at the MCG on Thursday.
While Sri Lanka have been one of the most consistent teams in big tournaments in the past few years, they just haven't found their groove down under so far.
They were rolled over by New Zealand in the World Cup opener, before being given a real scare by Afghanistan.
Had it not been for a terrific century from Mahela Jayawardene and a quickfire 47 from Thisara Perera, Sri Lanka would have stared at an embarrassing defeat to Afghanistan, who only lost the match by four wickets with 10 balls to spare.
"Wherever you play, you've got to play your best cricket, and I think we haven't played our best cricket yet," said Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews. "Regardless of the pitches and conditions, if we play our unique type of cricket, we can win against any team.
"The Australian pitches offer a little more to the bowlers and the bounce is very true. So as batters when you get set, you can go for a big one."
Sri Lanka will hope their Australia sojourn is better than the one in New Zealand, where they have been for quite a while, and Mathews made a rallying call to his team's fielding ahead of this match against Bangladesh.
"The attitude on the field has to be improved, so that's what we are concentrating on," added Mathews. "We've worked hard on our fielding, which is something the Sri Lanka team is usually well known for.
"My team is unique. We don't want to follow any other team in this tournament. But if we can bring our A-game tomorrow, that would be great."
Bangladesh, who thumped Afghanistan in their first match, before being forced to cool their heels in the second as rain washed out play against Australia last Saturday, will know if they play to their full potential, they will give Sri Lanka a real run for their money.
Against Afghanistan, the opening bowlers stepped up admirably to take the game away early, and skipper Mashrafe Mortaza is hoping for more of the same.
"We don't like backing our pace bowlers in Bangladesh, but we have good pace bowlers," said Mashrafe, who was the most impressive of the fast bowlers against Afghanistan. "After just one game, everyone is talking about Taskin [Ahmed] and Rubel [Hossain], that they can bowl well and with good pace. There is true bounce in these wickets so we have to play the extra pace bowler."
Bangladesh would have been pretty happy to come away with a point from Brisbane after the washout against Australia, because a win over the hosts would have been extremely unlikely. But plenty has happened off the pitch during that time, with Al-Amin Hossain sent back home by the team after breaking team curfew.
Shafiul Islam has been named as his replacement, but the fast bowler is unlikely to get a game in Melbourne. Sri Lanka have also been forced into a change in their squad, with Jeevan Mendis ruled out of the World Cup with a hamstring injury. Upul Tharanga has been named as his replacement, with the left-handed batsman not expected to feature in the game on Thursday.
Where to Watch Live
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The match between the two South Asian teams is set to begin at 2.30 pm local time (9 am IST, 3.30 am GMT, 10.30 pm ET). Live coverage in India will be on Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports HD3. Viewers in India can also watch the match via live streaming online on Starsports.com or Star Sports Live Pro.
Viewers in Sri Lanka can catch the match live on SLRC and Star Sports, while Bangladesh viewers can do the same on Bangladesh TV and Star Sports. Audience in both countries can live stream the action on Star Sports online.
Audience in the UK will be able to catch the match live on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Go, while the same goes for audience in the US on ESPN and Watch ESPN.
Australia viewers can watch the match live on Fox Sports and Channel 9, while the game can also be live streamed on Cricket Australia Live and Foxtel. New Zealand viewers will be able to watch the action live on Sky TV and Sky Go NZ.
