World Cup: Australia open their account with win over SL
After two successive defeats, five-time champions Australia have finally opened their account in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. They beat Sri Lanka after chasing 210 in match number 14 in Lucknow. Josh Inglis powered the Aussies to victory after they suffered a top-order collapse. Earlier, the Lankans perished after they had a 125-run opening stand. Adam Zampa took four wickets.
SL bowled out for 209 after having a century stand
SL had a steady start after electing to bat. Openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera added 125 runs. However, Pat Cummins removed the duo and handed Australia momentum. Zampa, Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Glenn Maxwell chipped in with crucial breakthroughs as SL lost their next eight wickets for just 52 runs. Charith Asalanka was the only other SL batter with a double-figure score.
Australia recover after facing a top-order collapse
Unlike SL, Australia had a patchy start as they lost David Warner and Steven Smith within five overs. Dilshan Madushanka perturbed the Aussies with his seam movement. Mitchell Marsh, who smashed a quickfire half-century, also departed before the 100-run mark. However, Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne steadied the ship thereafter. Maxwell (31*) joined Inglis and Marcus Stoinis (20*) while driving Australia to a five-wicket win.
A match-winning knock from Inglis
Inglis, who scored just five against South Africa, played a match-winning knock in Lucknow. He came to the middle after Australia lost their third wicket in the form of Marsh (81/3). Inglis steadied the ship and took Australia past 150 along with Labuschagne. The former slammed his second ODI fifty, having scored a 59-ball 58 (5 fours and 1 six).
Marsh slams his 18th ODI fifty
Although both star batters Warner and Smith departed within five balls, opener Marsh held his end. The right-handed batter, who has been on song, continued with his usual bravado. Marsh smashed 9 fours in his 52-run knock. He took only 51 balls for the same. It was his 18th ODI half-century and a second in ODI World Cups.
A record-breaking opening partnership
Sri Lanka were off to a dream start after electing to bat first. As mentioned, openers Nissanka and Perera added 125 runs, now the highest opening partnership for Sri Lanka against Australia in the World Cup. This is overall Sri Lanka's fourth-highest partnership against Australia in the tournament. However, the Lankan innings went downhill thereafter.
Perera smashes a vital 78
Perera, who failed to open his account against Pakistan, started decently against the Men in Yellow. He played cautiously but didn't shy away from punishing the poor deliveries. The former went on to smash his 16th ODI half-century and a fourth in the World Cup. His 78-run knock (82 balls) included 12 fours. This is now his highest score in the 50-over World Cup.
Nissanka smashes fifty in the second consecutive game
Nissanka, who smashed 51 against Pakistan, took his form into the Australia game. He smashed a couple of fours in the first itself bowled by Starc. Nissanka attacked the Aussie bowlers sporadically in the first Powerplay. He smashed his 11th ODI half-century and a second in the World Cup. His 61-run knock included eight fours. This is his highest World Cup score.
Nissanka races past 1,500 ODI runs
Nissanka, who made his ODI debut in March 2021, has now raced past 1,500 runs in ODIs. He owns 1,508 runs from 43 ODIs at 37.70. The tally includes 11 fifties and three tons.
The fourth such instance
As per Cricbuzz, this was just the fourth instance of both openers of a side scoring 50+ runs against Australia in ODI World Cups. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera also did it against Australia in the 2019 edition.
Zampa takes four wickets
Zampa, the pick of Australia's bowlers, dismissed Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama in successive overs after half-centurions Perera and Nissanka departed. The Australian leg-spinner then got rid of Karunaratne and Maheesh Theekshana to complete his four-wicket haul. Zampa conceded just 47 runs in eight overs, including a maiden. Meanwhile, Starc and Cummins snapped up two wickets apiece.
Zampa becomes third Australian spinner with a WC four-fer
Zampa has become the third Aussie spinner to take a four-wicket haul in the World Cup. Brad Hogg (4/27) and Shane Warne (4/29) are the others. Notably, no Australian spinner owns a World Cup fifer.
Starc completes 300 List A wickets
Despite being expensive at the start, Starc jeopardized the Lankan batters with his pace. He took two wickets for 42 runs in 10 overs. After dismissing Dhananjaya de Silva, Starc reached a landmark. He now has 300-plus wickets in List A cricket. Starc recently scripted history by becoming the fastest to 50 WC wickets. He reached the milestone in Australia's opener against India.
