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MATCH SUMMARY
Australia, batting first - 164 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in their 20 overs; Josh Inglis 48 (32) Sri Lanka, batting second - 164 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in their 20 overs; Pathum Nissanka 73 (53)
Match tied.
Super Over
Sri Lanka, batting first - 5 runs for the loss of 1 wicket; Pathum Nissanka 3* (2) Australia, batting second - 9 runs without loss in 3 balls; Marcus Stoinis 8* (2)
Australia beat Sri Lanka by winning the Super Over.
Player of the Match: Josh Hazlewood [4-0-22-3] and only 5 runs conceded in the Super Over
Australia lead the 5-match T20I series 2-0.
It was an absolute thriller at the SCG tonight! Australia looked favourites to win the match till the time Wanindu Hasaranga came out to bat and after that, the match had to go to the SUPER OVER to decide the winner.
The batting from Sri Lanka revolved around Pathum Nissanka, who almost carried his bat right through the 20 overs, with a responsible half-century. Giving him some support, was experienced wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Chandimal, who tried his best to match the asking rate. But it was the impetus provided by skipper Dasun Shanaka to the batting, that made Sri Lanka believe and kept them in the match. He hit 2 fours and 3 sixes is quick time to change the complexion of the game.
After his dismissal, off a brilliant throw from the deep by Steve Smith that hit the stumps direct and found Shanaka short of his crease, it was the pair of Nissanka and Wanindu Hasaranga, that once again pulled Sri Lanka out of the woods and kept them in the run chase. With 19 runs required off the last over, Australia thought that they had the match in their grasp with the dismissal of Nissanka, but the final flourish stunned them after that, courtesy Dushmantha Chameera and Maheesh Theekshana. Marcus Stoinis, who bowled the last over, gave away 18 and the match went to a SUPER OVER. But there was a moment of controversy in the 5th ball of the 20th over, that could have been called a wide, but the umpires decided against it. Had that happened, Sri Lanka would have won the match. There was also a moment of fear among every cricketing fan around the world when Steve Smith, in trying to pull off a spectacular save, hit the ground hard, head first, and lay on the turf, wincing in pain. But later on, he made it back up on his feet and was seen to feel better.
With the ball, Josh Hazlewood returned with impressive figures of 3 for 22 in his four overs, making the ball talk on a number of occasions. He found very good support in Pat Cummins who too finished with good figures of 1 for 30, but was taken for runs in his last over. Adam Zampa too chipped in with a wicket and gave away only 26 runs in his four overs.
Glenn Maxwell was a bit iffy with his catching as he dropped two catches that almost helped Sri Lanka win.
In the super over, Josh Hazlewood was outstanding, giving away only 5 runs against the batting of the explosive Dasun Shanaka and Pathum Nissanka.
When it was Australia's turn to bat, Wanindu Hasaranga could not spin a web on Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, as the former hit two fours off two balls to win the match for the hosts.
In the 1st innings, it was Josh Inglis who batted pretty well to ensure that the Australian run-rate was over 7 runs per over all the time. Aaron Finch got some useful runs and Marcus Stoinis too threatened to break free after scoring 3 boundaries, but it was Matthew Wade's cameo that took Australia to the total that eventually helped them to win. Steve Smith's batting in T20I cricket again came under the scanner as he could not get going in terms of his strike rate.
The bowling from Sri Lanka was good on the whole with Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga picking up 2 wickets each but the fielding could have been a lot better by way of getting the Australian batters run out and stopping balls from going for four in the deep.
It was an absolute pleasure to be able to bring you all the live action from such an exciting T20I match, from the picturesque Sydney Cricket Ground, especially under lights! Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for more cricket from this bilateral T20I series as 3 more matches come your way, with Sri Lanka looking to come back in the contest! For now, this is the pair of Lavil and Bidipto, saying good bye!
POST-MATCH PRESENTATION
Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka captain: It was a thriller. We gave away 10 runs extra and lost a few early wickets with the bat. The boys showed a lot of character by not giving up. Pathum was very good, and we hope to keep getting more such performances from him.
Aaron Finch, Australia captain: It was great to get the win but we were sloppy. We were lucky to get the match going our way. Josh was looking forward to bowling the super over so we didn't mess much with that. The toss-up obviously was between Josh and Adam Zampa, but we stuck to Josh. We will now mix and match out team to rest some of the players, especially the fast bowlers and see how the other guys go in the rest of the series.
Josh Hazlewood, Player of the Match: It was exciting to bowl the super over. The gameplan was clear and it was nice to execute according to it. It's about taking the opportunity to play as many T20 games as possible and making the most of them.
Australia win the match, courtesy the victory off the SUPER OVER! The series stands 2-0 in favour of Australia with 3 matches to go.
0.3 Wanindu Hasaranga to Marcus Stoinis, ONE RUN! AUSTRALIA WIN IN THE SUPER OVER! Full-length delivery on the middle and the off stump, Stoinis hits that one away towards deep midwicket and ends the match with a very casual single. Australia wins in the super over. Also, kudos to Sri Lanka for showing fight, steel and resolve to compete against the World Champions
0.2 Wanindu Hasaranga to Marcus Stoinis, FOUR! SCORES ARE LEVEL! Floated full-length delivery on the line of the off stump. Stoinis hits that one away towards covers and the ball runs away along the turf for a boundary
0.1 Wanindu Hasaranga to Glenn Maxwell, low full toss on the off stump. Maxwell fails to capitalise and hits it down to long on for a single
SUPER OVER Update
Wanindu Hasaranga, right-arm leg-spin, will bowl for Sri Lanka.
Glenn Maxwell, RHB and Marcus Stoinis, RHB will bat for Australia.
Video
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Sydney Cricket Ground
Dasun Shanaka
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Josh Hazlewood
