Australia beat Sri Lanka in first T20I: Records broken
Australia hammered Sri Lanka in the first T20I on Tuesday in Colombo. With this win, the Aussie have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Batting first, SL were bundled out for a paltry 128 in 19.3 overs. Josh Hazlewood claimed four wickets. In response, the Aussie openers led the charge piling up an unbeaten 134 runs.
How did the match pan out?
Sri Lankan openers added 39 runs for the first wicket before Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka put on a 61-run partnership. The Lankans were 100/2 before losing their way and folding for 128. Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc claimed seven scalps between them. In response, Aaron Finch and David Warner batted well to ensure Australia got the job done.
Hazlewood shines versus Lanka
Hazlewood has raced to 44 wickets from 28 games at 17.90. He finished with 4/16 from his four overs. The right-arm pacer claimed his fourth four-wicket haul in T20Is. Hazlewood's 4/16 is the third-best figures in Sri Lanka versus Australia T20Is. This is his second four-wicket spell versus Lanka (also 4/12 in February 2022).
Record stand for Finch and Warner
Finch and Warner have now gone on to pile up 1,300-plus runs in T20Is as a pair. They are the seventh pair to attain this feat. This was the duo's fourth century-plus stand in T20Is. This was their second 100-plus stand against Sri Lanka as well. They had earlier clobbered 122 runs in Adelaide back in 2019.
Starc gets to 63 T20I scalps
Mitchell Starc claimed three wickets for 26 runs. The left-arm pacer now has 63 T20I scalps at 23.14. He has surpassed Mohammad Hafeez, R Ashwin (61 wickets), and Trent Boult (62). Against Lanka, Starc has claimed 14 wickets at 20.42.
Warner smashes his 22nd T20I fifty; Finch gets past Stirling
Warner was unbeaten on 70, hitting nine fours. He now has 2,624 runs at 33.64. This was Warner's 22nd fifty in T20Is. Versus Sri Lanka, he has scored 582 runs at an average of 64.66. This was his sixth fifty versus SL. Meanwhile, Finch hammered a 40-ball 61*. He went past Paul Stirling's tally of 2,776 runs (2,796). Finch has 17 fifties now.
