Melbourne, Feb 21 Faced with the stiff task of winning at least two more matches to secure a place in the cricket tri-series final, Sri Lanka will need a spark of inspiration when they take on Australia in a crucial game here tomorrow.

Languishing at the bottom of the point table, Sri Lanka just cannot afford yet another defeat tomorrow and as outlined by their captain Mahela Jayawardene, every match is a semifinal for the islanders, who have been lacklustre in the tournament so far.

Despite their fierce on-field rivalry with the world champions, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his teammates would love to see Australia win tomorrow, an outcome that would ease India's passage to the final of the tournament.

As of now, the hosts lead the table with 17 points from five matches, while India is a distant second with 12 from six games.

The Lankans languish at the bottom with six points from five games and they need to win two of their remaining three games to reach the final.

The Jayawardene-led side has not live up to the expectation with both the batsmen and bowlers failing to make much of an impact in the series so far.

The batting order looked brittle and the attack, despite having the likes of Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan, lacked teeth. (Agencies)