World Cup 2019: Australia defeat Sri Lanka with a dominant win
World Cup 2019: Aaron Finch’s staggering 153, and Mitchell Starc’s fabulous 4-55 help Australia defeat Sri Lanka convincingly by 87 runs.
AUSTRALIA VS SRI LANKA SCORECARD:
Australia: 334-7 in 50 overs | Winner
Aaron Finch: 153(132) | Steve Smith: 73(59) | Dhananjaya de Silva: 2-40
Sri Lanka: 247-10 in 45.5 overs lost to Australia by 87 runs.
Dimuth Karunaratne: 97(108) | Mitchell Starc: 4-55 | Kane Richardson: 3-47
Player of the Match: Aaron Finch
MATCH SUMMARY:
Aaron Finch’s staggering 153 and Mitchell Starc’s fabulous 4-55 help Australia defeat Sri Lanka convincingly by 87 runs at World Cup 2019.
Batting first, Australia had a fantastic opening partnership of 80, however, Warner could only manage 26(48) in that.
Aaron Finch looked extremely fluent right from the start. Those cover drives, those straight drives, and those back foot punch were just pleasant to watch.
Finch then had a fantastic partnership with Smith as both mauled the Sri Lankan bowlers. These two added 173 for the third wicket as Australia reached 273 in 42 overs.
It looked as if Australia were set for a 350+ target, but a small fightback by Sri Lanka restricted Australia to 334-7 in 50 overs.
Aaron Finch made a staggering 153(132) with 15 fours and 5 sixes, while Steve Smith added 73(59) and Glenn Maxwell smashed 46(25).
THE CHASE:
Chasing 335, Sri Lanka couldn’t have asked for a better start than this as the openers added 115 for the first wicket in just 15 overs.
However, once the second wicket fell, Sri Lanka kind of lost the plot as Dimuth Karunaratne didn’t get any support from the other end.
After being 186-2 in 32 overs, Sri Lanka lost their last 8 wickets for just 61 runs. Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored for Sri Lanka with 97(108).
Even though Australia were a bowler short, Aaron Finch rotated his bowlers perfectly as Mitchell Starc took 4 important wickets, while Kane Richardson took 3 wickets.
WHAT WENT WRONG FOR SRI LANKA?
- The inability of the bowlers to put pressure in the middle overs.
- After a solid start, none of the other batsmen could carry on with the chase.
- A dreadful collapse after the second wicket leading Sri Lanka to a defeat.
KEY MOMENTS:
- An amazing yorker by Lasith Malinga to get rid off Steve Smith in the 44th over.
- Glenn Maxwell smashing Nuwan Pradeep for 22 runs off the over.
- Mitchell Starc getting rid of the dangerous, Kusal Perera.
- Kane Richardson dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne for 97, thus ending Sri Lanka’s hope.
NEXT MATCH:
Match 22: INDIA VS PAKISTAN
Place: Manchester
Date: June 16, 2019
Time: 3 pm IST
The mother of all matches, who would come out victorious in this match of all matches?.
ALSO READ: World Cup 2019: Team India script history with a memorable win over Australia
Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics.
Cricket to him is like what ‘Football is to Lionel Messi’, ‘Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar’, ‘Dancing is to Michael Jackson’, and what ‘Acting is to Clint Eastwood’.
Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.
