Australia resurrected their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup campaign on Monday with a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in a thrilling match in Lucknow.
Australia resurrect World Cup Campaign
This victory comes as a breath of fresh air after Australia’s winless start in the first two matches of the tournament.
The five-time World Cup champions showed marked improvement in successfully chasing down Sri Lanka’s modest total of 209 with more than 14 overs to spare.
Sri Lankan Openers
The Sri Lankan openers, Kusal Perera (78) and Pathum Nissanka (61), appeared to be setting the tone for a big total with a 125-run opening wicket partnership.
Australia’s Bowlers
However, Australia’s bowlers, led by Adam Zampa (4/25), Mitchell Starc (2/43), and Pat Cummins (2/32) and supported by solid fielding, were able to limit the Asian team in the later stages of their innings.
Dilshan Madushanka (3/38) threatened Australia’s chase early on by dismissing experienced duo David Warner and Steve Smith with a superb double-wicket maiden.
Fifties from 2 Aussie Batsmen
However, fifties from Josh Inglis (58) and Mitchell Marsh (52), as well as some powerful late hitting from Glenn Maxwell (31*), ensured Australia’s first victory in the tournament.
This victory moves Australia up to eighth place in the World Cup standings, while Sri Lanka remains winless and faces a difficult task to reach the semi-finals.
Australia’s journey in Lucknow got off to a frantic start, with Mitchell Marsh and David Warner taking the field first.
Dilshan Madushanka, on the other hand, struck twice in the third over, dismissing both Warner (11) and Steve Smith with lbw calls.
Despite this, Mitchell Marsh kept attacking, reaching his fifty off 39 balls and maintaining a high strike rate. He hit nine boundaries in the first 12 overs before being dismissed for 52 in the 15th.
77-run Partnership
Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne then put on a valuable 77-run partnership to help Australia’s chase. Inglis was joined by Maxwell after Labuschagne was dismissed for 40 in the 29th over.
Maxwell’s aggressive batting fueled Australia’s innings, propelling them to a convincing victory.
However, in the middle innings, Sri Lanka lost three crucial wickets to Australia’s bowlers: Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, and Sadeera Samarawickrama.
Mitchell Starc initially managed to extract swing with the new ball during Sri Lanka’s innings.
But it was a close call in the 21st over when Nissanka (61) pulled a Pat Cummins delivery towards mid-wicket.
Nissanka’s inning was ended by David Warner’s spectacular catch.
Perera continued to propel Sri Lanka’s attack forward, but Australia’s bowlers remained relentless.
Mendis, Sri Lanka’s captain, won the toss and chose to bat, aiming for a total of 280-300.
They made changes to their XI, replacing Dasun Shanaka and Matheesha Pathirana with Chamika Karunaratne and Lahiru Kumara. Australia used the same starting lineup as in their previous match against South Africa.
The injury to Sri Lanka’s captain, Dasun Shanaka, forced him to withdraw from the tournament. Mendis assumed command of the squadron.
Australia leads Sri Lanka in head-to-head matches, having won 63 of 98, while the Lions have proven to be competitive in Asia, with both teams winning 18 games in the region.
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