News Sports Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket confirms schedule for bilateral series against Australia with new twist

Sri Lanka Cricket confirms schedule for bilateral series against Australia with new twist

Both Sri Lanka and Australia are in contention to qualify for the final of the ICC World Test Championship. Australia have accumulated 62.50 percentage points after 12 games whereas Sri Lanka have added 55.56 percentage points to their kitty.

A Sri Lankan fan poses for the camera. Image Source : GETTY IMAGESA Sri Lankan fan poses for camera.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced the schedule for the upcoming bilateral series against Australia at home. Australia were going to play two Tests as part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle but will now play a one-off ODI too.

The Galle International Stadium will host the two Tests, the venue for the one-off 50-over game is yet to be decided.

The ODI game will be a dress rehearsal for both teams in the lead-up to the ICC Champions Trophy.

More importantly, the Test series will play a deciding factor given how Australia perform in the preceding Border-Gavaskar Trophy on home soil.

As it stands both Sri Lanka and Australia are in the race to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final. The defending champions are second on the points table with eight wins, three losses and a drawn game. They have 90 points to their credit and their points percentage is 62.50.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka have been playing some excellent red-ball cricket since the appointment of Dhananjaya de Silva as captain and that is reflected in where they stand on the WTC ladder.

The Lankan Lions are third on the points table with five wins and four losses in nine games and have aggregated 60 points. Their points percentage is 55.56.

Sri Lanka have to tour South Africa for a two-match Test series and will have to do well over there to fancy their chances of making it to the World Test Championship final. On the other hand, Aussies will have to thump India at home to be in supreme contention for a spot in the final.

Sri Lanka vs Australia series schedule

Date Match Venue
Jan 29 (Wednesday) - Feb 02 (Sunday) 1st Test match Galle International Stadium, Galle
Feb 06 (Thursday) - Feb 10 (Monday) 2nd Test match Galle International Stadium, Galle
Feb 13 (Thursday) One-off ODI To be announced