Australia drew first blood in the three-match T20I series, beating the hosts Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the 1st T20I played at R. Premadasa International Stadium on Tuesday night.
After being asked to bat first, Sri Lanka lost their last 9 wickets for 28 runs inside 45 deliveries, as the home team were bundled out for 128, with the Australian seamers accounting for 8 dismissals.
David Warner and Aaron Finch made short work of the chase as they thumped the Lankan bowlers to all parts of the grounds to make an early mark in the Australia’s first all-format tour of Sri Lanka since 2016. They reached the target with 36 balls to spare.
Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc impressed with the ball for the reigning world champions, picking up 4 for 16 and 3 for 26 respectively.
Sri Lanka were well on course to post a reasonable score on the board when they were 100 for 1 in the 12th over, but they lost their last nine wickets for 28 runs, which is the second-fewest runs added by a full-member team for the last nine wickets in a men’s T20I. The fewest is 26 runs by Zimbabwe against New Zealand during the T20 World Cup in 2010.
The Lankan openers Danushka Gunathilaka and Pathum Nissanka raced to 39 runs in 4.2 overs, with the former fearlessly ramping the Aussie seamers over the keeper’s head on a couple of times. However, Gunathilaka found third man’s throat after a quick-fire 26 off 15 deliveries. Nissanka and one-drop batter Charith Asalanka added 61 runs off 46 balls for the second wicket.
Nissanka fell for 36 off 31 deliveries, which opened the floodgates as the middle order crumbled in no time. Kusal Mendis skied one up for just 1 run and Bhanuka Rajapaksa was caught behind for a golden duck, whilst Skipper Dasun Shanaka played across the line to be adjudged LBW for a two-ball duck as Hazlewood picked up three crucial wickets inside 1 over.
Asalanka ran himself out after top-scoring with 38 off 34 balls, as bundling the lower order was not a tough task for the visitors.
Australia started off in a blistering pace, smashing 59 runs off the first 6 overs. Finch was given out for a duck in the very first over, but he reviewed immediately to find a little inside edge that saved him. The Australian openers used the aggressive mode in countering their biggest threat – Wanindu Hasaranga. The hosts had to employ Wanindu in the powerplay and his solitary over inside the field restrictions cost 19 runs.
Warner brought up his 22nd T20I fifty in 33 balls with 7 fours to become the first batter in men’s T20Is to score 50+ in five consecutive innings against the same opposition. Warner was dropped on 55 by Pathum Nissanka at extra-covers, which could have been the only wicket to fall. A brief shower delayed the final stages of the run chase when the Aussies were 101 for no loss in the 12th over. However, the visitors cruised to victory as Skipper Aaron Finch, playing the second fiddle, found much-needed form with the bat with a solid, unbeaten half-century.
The second T20I match will be played on Wednesday (under lights) at the same venue.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dhanushka Gunathilake | c Mitchell Marsh b Josh Hazlewood, | 26 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 173.33 |
| Pathum Nissanka | b Mitchell Starc | 36 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 116.13 |
| Charith Asalanka | run out () | 38 | 34 | 3 | 1 | 111.76 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Ashton Agar b Josh Hazlewood, | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa | c Matthew Wade b Josh Hazlewood, | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dasun Shanaka | lbw b Josh Hazlewood, | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | c Aaron Finch b Mitchell Starc | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 113.33 |
| Chamika Karunaratne | run out (Steve Smith) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Dushmantha Chameera | c David Warner b Mitchell Starc | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Maheesh Theekshana | c David Warner b Kane Richardson | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Nuwan Thushara | not out | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 7 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 7, pen 0) |
| Total | 128/10 (19.3 Overs, RR: 6.56) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 4 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 6.50 | |
| Josh Hazlewood, | 4 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 4.00 | |
| Mitchell Marsh | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 10.50 | |
| Glenn Maxwell | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 9.00 | |
| Kane Richardson | 3.3 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 6.67 | |
| Ashton Agar | 4 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 6.25 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Finch | not out | 61 | 40 | 4 | 4 | 152.50 |
| David Warner | not out | 70 | 44 | 9 | 0 | 159.09 |
| Extras | 3 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 134/0 (14 Overs, RR: 9.57) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maheesh Theekshana | 4 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 6.25 | |
| Nuwan Thushara | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 10.50 | |
| Dushmantha Chameera | 4 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 12.50 | |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 13.50 | |
| Chamika Karunaratne | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6.50 | |
