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Another day ticks by at the World Cup and that'll be all as far as our coverage from this contest is concerned. We're back tomorrow as the party moves back to Dharamsala with South Africa, who are in red-hot form, taking on The Netherlands, who are in search of their first win. The Proteas were shocked by the Dutch at the T20 World Cup last year so will history repeat itself in a different format or will South Africa join India and New Zealand in making it three out of three? Join us to find out while keeping yourselves updated with all the other cricketing news and action from around the world on this very platform. For the moment, this is the duo of Shashwat Kumar and Sooryanarayanan Sesha signing off. Thank you so much for joining us as we hope to see you again tomorrow. Good night and take care!
A happy Pat Cummins and a happy Australian team. They will hope that this sets them on their way and if that happens, the rest of the teams in the tournament will watch with caution alright. Australia now play Pakistan in Bengaluru on Friday (October 20) and tell you what, that promises to be an absolute cracker on what could be a belter of a track at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
As for Sri Lanka, it's going from bad to worse for them. They've been ravaged by injuries but having lost three on the bounce, they're really staring down the abyss now. They remain in Lucknow as The Netherlands come calling on Saturday and Kusal Mendis and Co. certainly have to dish out the kind of performance they did at the Qualifiers earlier this year alright.
Pat Cummins (Australia captain): Yeah, happy today (smiles). Probably nothing that was said. It was more on the back of two losses, our group's got pretty high standards so everyone wanted to come out. (Was anything said during the rain break?) Not really - they started really well. I thought we bowled decently but we were staring down the barrel at 1/130 or something like that. But the bowlers stuck to their task and to bowl them out for 209 was great. Hard to say but I think par was probably 300. I think it's one of the strengths in our group. There were a lot of people watching heading into the World Cup which is great but we're not bothered by outside noise. I hope so (that this gets us going). Almost all parts of the game came together at the end today. That's the standard. We're kind of underway now in the tournament and we've to make sure to keep it up.
Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka captain): Firstly congrats to Pathum and KJP (Perera) - they batted really well and got that opening partnership. We lost wickets after that. 290-300 I think would have been a good total on this pitch. (Any particular reason for losing their way with the bat?) More dot balls and not rotating strike enough. It was still a good wicket. Unfortunately we played too many risky shots. (Surprised that this collapse happened today?) Last two games we have batted really well. Today, we struggled a little bit. Hopefully in the next match we get momentum. I think we can do better than today - I have confidence in our batting unit. (On Madushanka) He bowled really well in the first 3-4 overs. He picked up two early wickets. Dunith struggled a little for a couple of overs but I know he's better than that. The bowling unit is getting better and I know we'll do better in the next matches. (On the injuries) I hope Dasun and Matheesha will recover quickly. KJP looks okay and I hope he can play the next game.
Adam Zampa, Player of the Match: (On how he felt bowling) To be honest, not great. Been sporting a bit of a back spasm the last couple of days. Trying to get through this. Felt like I felt better and bowled better but one of those days. (On being taken out of the attack after bowling eight overs) It was a decision to bowl the off-spinner to the left-handers. Might not have bowled anyway because my back was very sore. Felt I could have bowled better in the last game. My job is to get wickets, have not been doing that. Nice to be on the better end of the result tonight. (On if he did anything different) Took me a little while to get into the game again. Just trying to keep that wicket-taking attitude and make it easier for those bowling the later overs. We got a really big game against Pakistan in Bengaluru but it will be the same for me - try and get wickets.
Match Summary: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets.
They're off the bottom and have points against their name. The five-time champions have finally notched up a win at the ODI World Cup after four losses in the competition, dating back to their final round-robin fixture in 2019. It's been a frustrating wait in this edition but Australia are off the mark at last.
It was expected to be a straightforward chase after Adam Zampa and Co. led a rout of Sri Lanka's batting lineup to restrict them to just 209. There was a delayed start owing to rain but the way Mitchell Marsh and David Warner came out swinging, there was no doubt that Australia were keen to win and win big. It took a dent when Warner was adjudged LBW and ball tracking returned an innocuous umpire's call decision when it seemed to the naked eye that it would have slid past leg stump. While he stormed off the field in fury, Steven Smith was soon trapped plumb in front with Dilshan Madushanka weaving magic with the new ball.
Sri Lanka could sense an opening but it was soon shut for good by Marsh, who was in a menacing mood at his end. He was keen to play his natural game and went for his shots even as Marnus Labuschagne played second fiddle. Marsh notched up the first fifty by an Australian batter at this World Cup and the third wicket-partnership seemed to put them on course for a comfortable win. That was when an ill-judged second run caught Marsh short of his ground to leave the door ajar for the Lankans again.
Josh Inglis then took control of the situation with a briskly paced innings. Kusal Mendis, in his first match as captain, was happy to bowl Dhananjaya de Silva in the middle-overs even as there was no assistance for spin. Dunith Wellalage bowled with control but wickets were hard to come by as Inglis and Labuschagne built another solid stand to shut the door for good this time. Mendis delayed the entry of Madushanka's second spell and even as the left-arm seamer dismissed Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell came out swinging like only he can to try and wrap this up quickly.
Inglis was a massive takeaway though for the Aussies. A pristine half-century that was paced beautifully ensured that Australia didn't sap themselves of the momentum that Marsh set up for them in the chase. And it was time for Marcus Stoinis to then strike a few lusty blows of his own to seal it with a massive hit as Australia finally managed to register their first points. Is this the catalyzer that gets them going? Time will tell...
Sealed in style by the 'local lad'. Stoinis plays for the Lucknow Super Giants of course and he has had the final say in this contest in grand fashion. After a frustrating wait, Australia get on the board at the 2023 World Cup with a five-wicket win and 88 deliveries to spare!
35.2 Dunith Wellalage to Marcus Stoinis, A MASSIVE BLOW AND THAT WILL BE THAT! Slot ball on leg stump. Stoinis backs away early, swings through the line and clatters it into the sightscreen to seal the deal. Australia are finally off the mark at this World Cup!
For what it's worth, a slip remains in operation.
35.1 Dunith Wellalage to Marcus Stoinis, into the blockhole outside off. Stoinis digs it out towards the bowler
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Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
