Australia showed their dominance as they outplayed Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in the World Cup 2023 clash at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Monday. Australian batters Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis starred with the bat and ensured their team’s first win in the ongoing tournament. Both batters ended up getting their respective half-centuries against the Island nation.
Earlier, the Sri Lankan team won the toss and opted to bat first, getting a solid start as their openers Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka went on to add 125 runs in 21.4 overs. It was Australia skipper Pat Cummins who came up with a first blow as he snared Nissanka for 61(67) and followed up with the wicket of Perera 78(82).
Australian spinner Adam Zampa also starred with the ball as he removed Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama for single-digit scores, shifting the momentum towards Australia. Rain also chipped in for a while but then the Kangaroos continued their domination. Apart from Zampa, Mitchell Starc also picked up two wickets, while Glenn Maxwell picked one wicket. By the end of the innings, Zampa finished with four wickets, helping Australia restrict the Island nation to a below-average total of 209 in 43.3 overs.
In reply, the Australian batting lineup did see a bit of collapse as Dilshan Madushanka took a double wicket maiden in the fourth over of the chase, cleaning up David Warner (11) and Steve Smith (0). Meanwhile, Mitchell Marsh smashed a half-century before getting out. Australia were reeling at one point in time since Marsh departed but then Josh Inglis played a crucial knock as he scored 58 runs, powering Australia to an emphatic win.
Coming to play this game against Australia, Sri Lanka made two changes as Chamika Karunaratne and Lahiru Kumara were added to the playing XI as they replaced Dasun Shanaka and Matheesha Pathirana. For Sri Lanka, Dilshan Madushanka picked up three wickets while Wellalage picked up one.