PERTH: Australian bowlers made a great comeback after a 69-run stand for the second wicket between Pathum Nissanka and Dhananjaya de Silva to reduce Sri Lanka to a modest 157/6 in their Group 1, Super 12 match of the ICC T20 World Cup in Perth on Tuesday.
A 69-run stand for the second wicket between Nissanka (40) and de Silva (26) kept the Lankans in a good position but the Aussies made comeback with some quick wickets, exploiting the Lankans’ tendency to hit loose shots. However, Charith Asalanka (38*) made sure his side finished on a decent note.
Put to bat first by Australia, Sri Lanka faced a huge blow when pacer Pat Cummins sent back in-form opener Kusal Mendis for just 5 off 6 balls after the batter skied a mistimed pull attempt that went straight into the hands of Mitchell Marsh at the midwicket region. Sri Lanka was 6/1.
Following this, opener Pathum Nissanka and Dhananjaya de Silva joined forces and kept the scoreboard ticking with some careful strike rotation and at least one boundary per over. However, at the later stages of the power-play, Aussie bowlers delivered some extras due to some sloppy bowling.
At the end of the power-play, Sri Lanka was at 36/1, with de Silva (6*) and Nissanka (17*).
The Asian champions reached the 50-run mark in eight overs and their inning seemed to be on the right track. A fifty-run stand for the second wicket was up between Silva (15*) and Nissanka (28*) in 41 balls.
At the end of 10 overs, Sri Lanka was at 63/1, with de Silva (17*) and Nissanka (32*) at the crease. The duo had collectively scored only four boundaries, focusing mostly on strike rotation.
The 69-run stand between Silva and Nissanka was broken by spinner Ashton Agar, after the former was caught brilliantly by David Warner at the long-off region. Silva was back in the hut for 26 off 23 balls and Lankans were 75/2 in 11.3 overs.
Charith Asalanka was the next man up for Sri Lanka, who made an immediate impact by smashing Marsh for a four and six in the 13th over. A well-set Nissanka also had to return back after being run out by the pair of Marsh and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade for 40 off 45 balls. Sri Lanka was 97/3.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa was the next batter on the crease. Sri Lanka touched the 100-run mark in 14.1 overs. He scored a boundary, but his stay was limited to just five balls by Mitchell Starc, who got his first victim of the day with assistance from Cummins. Sri Lanka was down 106/4 in 14.5 overs. With five overs left, Sri Lanka was at 106/4, with Asalanka (16*) joined by skipper Dasun Shanaka. The Lankans continued to witness a slide in momentum as skipper Shanaka skied one, caught by Wade, giving Glenn Maxwell his first wicket for the day.
SL had lost half of their batters for 111 runs. They lost four wickets within space of just 36 runs, allowing the Aussies to make a comeback after the Silva-Nissanka stand.
Josh Hazlewood claimed the scalp of all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga for just one run. Hasanranga edged a length ball pitching at the seventh stump to give a catch to Wade. At 120/6 in 17.3 overs, SL needed some intervention to improve their situation. Chamika Karunaratne joined Asalanka on the crease. Asalanka helped his side cross the 150-run mark in 19.5 overs. The final over by Cummins was extremely expensive as it gave away 20 runs.
Sri Lanka finished at 157/6, with Asalanka (38*) and Karunaratne (14*). Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, Agar and Maxwell got a wicket each.
Brief Scores: Australia: 157/6 (Pathum Nissanka 40, Charith Asalanka 38*, Glenn Maxwell 1/5). (ANI)
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