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That's it from me, Rajarshi, and my co-commentator Raghav, as we conclude our cricketing coverage for today. No international cricket tomorrow, but we have four ECS matches coming your way, starting at 12 noon. The day starts off with the Cobra Cricket club taking on the Royal Tigers at Hungary, and Abhinav and Rishab will be the ones to bring you the action right here on Sportskeeda. Goodbye for now!
Target: 282 off 44 Overs (DLS method) Australia 282/8 (42.3 Overs) Glenn Maxwell 80*(51), Wanindu Hasaranga 4/58 (9 overs)
Australia win by 2 wickets with 9 balls to spare (DLS method).
With 300 runs in the bank to start with, Sri Lanka struck an early blow as Maheesh Theekshana accounted for the dangerous David Warner. Australia then got back into the game with the help of a healthy partnership as skipper Aaron finch was joined by former skipper Steve Smith. The pair got along, the start was slow, and once the two of them got a hang of the wicket, they began to find the runs frequently, Finch in particular. Aaron Finch was looking good in the middle, but a misjudgment in feet movement resulted in his downfall.
A bout of rain came along and took 6 overs out of the equation, which meant that Australia had to come out and chase 17 less than what they were supposed to chase initially. Smith and Labuschagne then got together; Smith found the fence more often as Labuschagne played himself in. It was the Sri Lankan captain's medium pace which broke the stand; Labuschagne mistimed a pull shot and was held on at the mid-wicket boundary. Steve Smith, having completed his fifty, followed soon after; the debutant, Dunith Wellalage, went though his attempt to swipe him across the line and cleaned him up.
Marcus Stoinis and Alex Carey proceeded to take the chase forward as the Sri Lankans threw everything at them. Dasun Shanaka kept rotating his bowlers to try and make a difference. Hasaranga accounted for Stoinis eventually, getting Sri Lanka back in the game, but then walked in Glenn Maxwell. At number 7, testifying the sheer depth in the Australian batting line-up.
Carey turned into a mere second-fiddler as Maxwell took charge of the situation. He had a look in at the pitch and then started picking out the balls to hit, and he hit them all right. Hasaranga then proceeded to strike in his final over, bringing the crowd to life before hobbling off the field.
Maxwell, though, was still in the middle. And with the tail left to bat with, he had to be more circumspect about farming the strike. Maheesh Theekshana went for 15 in his final over, and the tide shifted to the visitors. Wellalage and Dhanajaya ensured that only 11 came off the next three overs, with Wellalage accounting for Ashton Agar. Dushmantha Chameera then kept his nerve and bowled a brilliant 3-run over, troubling Maxwell with his pace and change of length.
Shanaka then ended up giving one over too many to the debutant Wellalage, and there was nothing that Maxwell would have wanted more. A reverse sweep off the first ball of the 42nd was sent to the backward point fence, the next one was strayed down leg under pressure and Maxwell found the fine leg boundary. 11 came off that over. The match went into the penultimate over with Australia needing 12, and two smashing blows from Maxwell sealed the deal off Chameera. Australia take the first game by 7 wickets and gather 10 important points for ICC ODI Super League.
Aaron Finch, Australia captain: It was a very good game of cricket, I think that innings from Maxwell, that was pure class. Showed a lot of skill, a lot of game-smartness as well. It was a fantastic chase. We were always one wicket behind from where we would have liked to be, would have been good to be in a position where we could have built a partnership but that was an extraordinary innings from Maxwell. Steve Smith played a really nice innings as well. So, few more partnerships through that middle-overs, so that we could build and have a few wickets in hand towards the back end would have been ideal, but still great to get a win. (On Australia's death bowling) The last two games we were put under a lot of pressure towards the back end, and our execution has been off, maybe our plans have been slightly off as well, but when you've got new batters towards the back end of an innings, it's always hard to stop, so, we'll keep working on that.
Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka captain: I think both the teams played really well in the game. Our bowling went wrong today, short balls and full tosses cost the game for us. Credit to their batsmen, they batted really well, and they used their experience very well. I'm very happy with the runs on the board. 300 plus is always a winning total in this ground. The way we bowled, it cost the game for us. Hasaranga has been carrying this injury for some time, I think he will be okay. Let's see, I don't know his exact at the moment. (On Dunith Wellalage) He's a very good cricketer from the beginning, I have seen him from the U19 level, I think he will deliver in the next game and future matches.
Glenn Maxwell, Player of the Match: Yes, it certainly is a satisfying knock. It was pleasing, especially when the conditions were'nt really favourable for batting. I just tried to stay out there for as long as I could. I knew I'd get opportunities to score and calculated my risks. Reverse sweeps are something I have practiced all my life, it's pretty great when you can play those shots even when the ball is turning heavily.
Time and time again, Glenn Maxwell emerges from the most adverse of situations and does the job for his team so, so admirably. The Pallekele International cricket stadium has been stunned to silence! What a knock this was from the Big Show, he walked in at number 7, unusually low down the order as per his standards, and took the game by the scruff of the neck and got the job done. A brilliant, brilliant cricket match comes to an end, Australia come out on top eventually.
43.0
42.3 Dushmantha Chameera to Glenn Maxwell, SIX! Australia win! Back of a length delivery, pitching just outside off, Maxwell goes across and pulls it over midwicket for a maximum! Maxwell gets the job done for Australia.
42.2 Dushmantha Chameera to Glenn Maxwell, SIX! Full and wide, Maxwell comes down the ground and lofts it over long off for another big hit! Australia are one hit away.
42.1 Dushmantha Chameera to Glenn Maxwell, back of a length on off, pushed back to the bowler
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Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
