After four relatively easy wins in the tournament, Sri Lanka came up against their toughest opponent yet, Australia in Dubai. Things did not end well for the Lions as they suffered their 1st loss of the tournament. Here are some of the key talking points from the game.
Asalanka goes off in the powerplay
Charith Asalanka strode out after Sri Lanka lost yet another early wicket and took control immediately, belting Pat Cummins for two fours with the first two deliveries of his innings. As he had done in the game against Bangladesh, he seemed determined to make the most of the powerplay, scoring 27 off 18 by the end of the 6th over. The highlight of his knock came when he took Glenn Maxwell for a huge six and four in the all-rounder’s 1st over – immediately making Sri Lanka’s plan to go after Australia’s 5th bowler clear. Thanks to him, Sri Lanka seemed well on their way to a big total at 75/1 at the end of the 9th over.
Sri Lanka’s middle-over slump
Sri Lanka were ready to kick on in the 2nd half of their innings, when Adam Zampa dismissed Asalanka. From that point, Sri Lanka managed just 33 runs in the next 6.2 overs as Zampa and Starc took control. Aaron Finch took the gamble to use Starc in the middle overs and it paid off. Starc sent back Kusal Perera, just as the left-hander looked to be getting into his groove and then dismissed Hasaranga too. Zampa and Starc combined for 4 wickets for 22 runs in 5 overs, turning the match completely on its head.
Bhanuka Rajapakse continues his form
Bhanuka Rajapakse is relishing his time in Sri Lanka’s middle order. Continuing from where he left off against Bangladesh, the left hander dragged Sri Lanka to a competitive total with 33 off 26. The left-hander struggled to pick Zampa, but once the leggie finished his quota, he went after the bowling. He was particularly instrumental in targeting that 5th bowler option, but probably feels like he missed out a little in the death, when Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc managed to cramp him for room by bowling at his body. The highlight of his innings was when he took Stoinis for 17 off the 17th over.
*Overall Maxwell and Stoinis conceded 51 off their 4 overs, but Australia’s 4 front-line bowlers gave away just 99 runs in 16 overs.
Sri Lanka’s poor powerplay bowling
Sri Lanka had another poor day with the ball and it started off with a wayward over by Chamika Karunaratne, where he conceded 2 boundaries to Aaron Finch. There was a real opportunity for Sri Lanka to put the under-firing Finch and Warner under pressure with some tight bowling, but they seemed to almost try too hard to get wickets, losing their lines and lengths. Australia ended up with 63 off the powerplay, the highest powerplay total of the world cup so far.
To add insult to injury, Kusal Perera dropped one of the easiest catches he could possibly hope for, when Warner gloved one behind the stumps off Dushmantha Chameera. It proved to be costly, of course, as Warner went on to make 65.
Hasaranga left to fight alone again
After a poor game, by his standards, against Bangladesh, Hasaranga was back to his best in this game. With Sri Lanka going for plenty early on, by the time Hasaranga came onto bowl, Australia were well ahead. He struck in his 1st over, sending Finch back for 37 and then Maxwell for 5 in his 2nd over, but even he could not drag Sri Lanka back into the game. Sri Lanka’s other bowlers just could not exert any pressure on the batters, with the quicks conceding 109 off 9 overs.
