A buoyant Australia took on a plucky Sri Lanka at the Oval, a game that had a loads of ups & downs, & eventually ended in a tame victory for the Aussies.
Put into bat on overcast conditions, Finch found his rhythm with some crisp drives early on, while Warner struggled to score, as the Australian opening pair put on 80 runs, before Warner got out for a patchy 26 off 48 deliveries. Khawaja too scratched for runs before holing out in the deep & in came Smith to provide reassuring calm at the middle & along with Finch make merry of the Lankan attack, laying the foundation with a fluent 173 run partnership in just 118 balls - Smith was creative & busy on his toes while Finch was simple yet brutal. Finch eventually got a big hundred scoring 153 runs before getting caught in the deep, while Smith was bowled by a Malinga yorker after scoring a pleasing 73 off just 53 deliveries. Next in, Maxwell blazed from the word go, & at 302 fo 4, with five overs remaining, Sri Lankans were staring at a score in access of 350. But the batting stuttered surprisingly & Lankan left arm pacer, Udana effected two run outs & also claimed two wickets, as the Aussie innings ended at 334 for 7 with Maxi missing his half century, remaining unbeaten at 46 runs off just 25 deliveries. The last five overs had yielded only 32 runs, which in any other game could have proven disastrous for the Champions.
Chasing a big total, the Lankan opening pair of Capt Karunaratne & Kusal Perera surprised everyone by going hammer & tongs against the fiery Aussie pace attack, as boundaries came fast & thick and the score raced to 115 in just 15.3 overs, before Perera was bowled by Starc. By then he had scored a breezy 52 off just 36 deliveries, as the Lankans looked threatening to overhaul the target. Karunaratne, kept one end tight with emphatic batting, while Thirimanne & then Mendis kept the scoreboard ticking at the other end. The Lankan Captain survived & profited through an umpiring error, as the Aussies had lost their DRS call earlier & could not enforce a review - replays showed a clear LBW.
At 186 for 2 after 32 overs, the game was alive, with Lankan supporters in the stands raising the decibels, as Aussies looked to tighten the screws with Maxwell & Richardson bowling tight overs. Runs started to dry, as Karunaratne, looking certain for a well deserved century, got plucked out at gully by Maxi, for a superb 97, triggering a slide. Four wickets tumbled soon as Starc & Co applied pressure to take controls, & eventually the innings folded at 247 all out in the 46th over. The Lankans, after raising hopes of an improbable upset win, faltered to deceive losing their way to the ever increasing run rate. Starc picked up 4 wickets taking his tournament tally to 13, while Cummins bagged 2 & Richardson bagged 3.
For Australia, now on top of the table with four wins, their batting is looking ominous, with top order firing, but there are visible chinks with middle & late order yet to show confidence, while the bowling looks heavily reliant on Starc & Cummins to deliver - they too leak runs, as demonstrated by the sprightly Lankan openers in this match.
For the Lankans, with just one win & two split points, its going to be an uphill task ahead. The team does show spark, but only in patches.
Put into bat on overcast conditions, Finch found his rhythm with some crisp drives early on, while Warner struggled to score, as the Australian opening pair put on 80 runs, before Warner got out for a patchy 26 off 48 deliveries. Khawaja too scratched for runs before holing out in the deep & in came Smith to provide reassuring calm at the middle & along with Finch make merry of the Lankan attack, laying the foundation with a fluent 173 run partnership in just 118 balls - Smith was creative & busy on his toes while Finch was simple yet brutal. Finch eventually got a big hundred scoring 153 runs before getting caught in the deep, while Smith was bowled by a Malinga yorker after scoring a pleasing 73 off just 53 deliveries. Next in, Maxwell blazed from the word go, & at 302 fo 4, with five overs remaining, Sri Lankans were staring at a score in access of 350. But the batting stuttered surprisingly & Lankan left arm pacer, Udana effected two run outs & also claimed two wickets, as the Aussie innings ended at 334 for 7 with Maxi missing his half century, remaining unbeaten at 46 runs off just 25 deliveries. The last five overs had yielded only 32 runs, which in any other game could have proven disastrous for the Champions.
Chasing a big total, the Lankan opening pair of Capt Karunaratne & Kusal Perera surprised everyone by going hammer & tongs against the fiery Aussie pace attack, as boundaries came fast & thick and the score raced to 115 in just 15.3 overs, before Perera was bowled by Starc. By then he had scored a breezy 52 off just 36 deliveries, as the Lankans looked threatening to overhaul the target. Karunaratne, kept one end tight with emphatic batting, while Thirimanne & then Mendis kept the scoreboard ticking at the other end. The Lankan Captain survived & profited through an umpiring error, as the Aussies had lost their DRS call earlier & could not enforce a review - replays showed a clear LBW.
At 186 for 2 after 32 overs, the game was alive, with Lankan supporters in the stands raising the decibels, as Aussies looked to tighten the screws with Maxwell & Richardson bowling tight overs. Runs started to dry, as Karunaratne, looking certain for a well deserved century, got plucked out at gully by Maxi, for a superb 97, triggering a slide. Four wickets tumbled soon as Starc & Co applied pressure to take controls, & eventually the innings folded at 247 all out in the 46th over. The Lankans, after raising hopes of an improbable upset win, faltered to deceive losing their way to the ever increasing run rate. Starc picked up 4 wickets taking his tournament tally to 13, while Cummins bagged 2 & Richardson bagged 3.
For Australia, now on top of the table with four wins, their batting is looking ominous, with top order firing, but there are visible chinks with middle & late order yet to show confidence, while the bowling looks heavily reliant on Starc & Cummins to deliver - they too leak runs, as demonstrated by the sprightly Lankan openers in this match.
For the Lankans, with just one win & two split points, its going to be an uphill task ahead. The team does show spark, but only in patches.
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