Sri Lanka end their 5 year hoodoo against Australia and avoid the whitewash as they managed to secure a 5 wicket win today. This is the first time since 2017 Sri Lanka managed to defeat Australia in a T20 match.
Australia put a decent 154/6 runs on the board after the horrid start. In the end they managed to recover from their early collapse. Mathew Wade finished with 43*. Maheesh Theekshana kept things tidy while the other bowlers picked wickets. Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara picked 2 wickets each while Praveen Jayawickrama and Chamika Karunaratne picked 1 each.
The chase for Sri Lanka started reasonably well despite losing 4 wickets rather carelessly. Debutants Kamil Mishara and Janith Liyanage were run out while Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka also had soft dismissals in trying to score in every ball.
In the end, Kusal Mendis the opener and captain Dasun Shanaka put a steady 83 run partnership to steer Sri Lanka through. Kusal Mendis scored his 6th fifty and finished on 69*. Dasun Shanaka hit a monstrous six to level the scores in the final over, only to get out in the very next ball. In the end, Chamika Karunaratne hit the final blow.
Kusal Mendis was awarded Man of the Match. Glenn Maxwell was awarded the Man of the Series. Sri Lanka is due to play against the newly crowned T20 No.1, India on the 24th this week.
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