In the previous match, Kusal Mendis was appointed as the captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team for the remainder of the tournament after their regular captain Dasun Shanaka was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury. However, Sri Lanka lost the match and Mendis failed to make a significant contribution.
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| Image Credits: ESPN Cricinfo |
The Sri Lankan team started off well with an impressive 125-run partnership between Pathum Nissanka (61 off 67) and Kusal Perera (78 off 82) for the first wicket. However, things took a turn for the worse for Sri Lanka after this partnership was broken.
Adam Zampa was the star performer for Australia, taking 4 wickets for 47 runs in his 8 overs. Glenn Maxwell (1/36 from 9.2 overs), Pat Cummins and Mitch Starc also contributed with two wickets each, resulting in Sri Lanka being bowled out for just 209 runs in 43.3 overs.
Kusal Mendis, who had scored 198 runs in the first two games of the tournament, only managed to contribute 9 runs off 13 balls in this innings as the captain. Although Australia had a shaky start, losing two wickets in the 4th over, they managed to recover and win the game.
Sri Lankan pacer Dilshan Madushanka made an impressive start to his first World Cup match by bowling a maiden over and dismissing both David Warner and Steven Smith in the first and last balls of the over, without conceding a single run. Meanwhile, Mitchell Marsh (52 off 51), Marnus Labuschagne (40 off 60), and Josh Inglis (58 off 59) led Australia to victory in the 36th over with 5 wickets in hand.
Adam Zampa was awarded the Player of the Match for his excellent performance in the first half of the innings, which turned the game in Australia's favor. This is Australia's first victory in this edition while Sri Lanka lost all their 3 games in the tournament so far!
Brief Scores: Australia - 215/5 in 35.2 overs (Josh Inglis - 58, Mitchell Marsh - 52, Dilshan Madushanka - 3/38) defeated Sri Lanka - 209 all out in 43/3 overs (Kusal Perera - 78, Pathum Nissanka - 61, Adam Zampa - 4/47, Pat Cummins - 2/32) by a margin of 5 wickets (with 88 balls remaining)
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