World Cup 2019: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in their second warm-up game
Australia defeated Sri Lanka in their second warm-up game played at Rose Bowl, Southampton on Monday ahead of the World Cup 2019.
Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and decided to bat first. Thirimanne and captain Karunaratne got the team off to a steady start, adding 44 runs for the opening wicket. Kane Richardson got the breakthrough by dismissing Karunaratne for 16. At the end of 10 overs, Sri Lanka were 44 for 1.
After the power play overs, the Australian bowlers showed discipline and never allowed the Sri Lankan batsmen to score runs with ease. Thirimanne played with positive intent to reach his half-century off 62 balls. Mathews, Jeevan Mendis got starts but could not convert into big scores. Thisara Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva added 64 runs for the 7th wicket.
Dhananjaya de Silva scored 43 while Perera made 27. Sri Lanka scored 239 for 8 in 50 overs. For Australia, Adam Zampa took 2 for 39, while Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell took 1 wicket each.
Chasing the target of 240 runs to win, it wasn't a perfect start for Australia as Nuwan Pradeep dismissed Aaron Finch for 11. Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh steadied the Australian innings with some solid stroke play. At the end of 10 overs, Australia were 54 for 1.
After the power play overs, Khawaja and Marsh made batting look easy. Both added 80 runs for the 2nd wicket. Siriwardana dismissed Shaun Marsh for 34. The left-handed Khawaja continued to play with positive intent and reached his fifty off 55 balls. Glenn Maxwell came to the crease and scored a quick fire 36. Khawaja and Maxwell added 65 runs for the 3rd wicket.
Marcus Stoinis also provided some important runs scoring 32 off 30 balls. Usman Khawaja was dismissed for 89. Australia won the match by 5 wickets with 31 balls to spare. For Sri Lanka, Vandersay picked up 2 for 51, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhananjaya de Silva and Siriwardana took 1 wicket each.
Brief scores: Australia 241 for 5 in 44.5 overs (Usman Khawaja 89, Glenn Maxwell 36, Vandersay 2/51) beat Sri Lanka 239 for 8 in 50 overs (Thirimanne 56, Dhananjaya de Silva 43, Adam Zampa 2/39) by 5 wickets.
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