Sri Lanka vs Australia 1st T20I Highlights: Australia Win By 10 wickets
Australia will play three Twenty20 internationals, five one-day internationals and two Test matches during the tour, which ends July 12.
Sri Lanka vs Australia 1st T20I Highlights: Josh Hazlewood ran through hosts Sri Lanka to limit them to a modest 128 all out in the first T20 after Australia's Aaron Finch won the toss and chose to bowl in Colombo on Tuesday. In reply, Australia reached the target in 14 overs with openers Finch (61*) and David Warner (70*) staying unbeaten. Hazlewood took three wickets in the 14th over and triggered Sri Lanka's middle-order batting collapse to give the visitors an easy-looking 129 to win the first of three T20s. The in-form pacer finished with an impressive 4-16 in his four overs and took the wickets of Danushka Gunathilaka (26), Kusal Mendis (1), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (0) and captain Dasun Shanaka (0). Hazlewood was well supported by his new ball partner Mitchell Starc who removed opener Pathum Nissanka for 36 off 31 balls before cleaning up the hosts' lower order to finish with 3-26 in his four tight overs. Earlier, Sri Lanka's top three batters gave the hosts a slow but steady start and took the team to 100 for two in the first 12 overs.
Australia Playing XI: Aaron Finch(c), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade(w), Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Josh Hazlewood.
Sri Lanka Playing XI: Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Nuwan Thushara, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana.
Sri Lanka Cricket Team
Australia Cricket Team
SL vs AUS Live Updates
Right then! That is it from this one-sided affair. Australia go 1-0 up but Sri Lanka will look to draw things up in the 2nd T20I which is on Wednesday, 8th June at 7 pm IST (1.30 pm GMT). Do join us in advance for the build-up as well. Till then, goodbye and cheers!
Aaron Finch, the skipper of Australia says that they have had a really similar group for a while, everyone understands their role, and it's only about giving them confidence. Mentions that Josh Hazlewood bowled at a consistent length, Sri Lanka played very well in the powerplay but they were able to control the middle overs. Adds that he feels nice to get some runs and put on a partnership with David Warner. Concludes by saying that it was a good performance overall.
The skipper of Sri Lanka, Dasun Shanaka says that it is a day that everything went wrong for them. Mentions that they had a serious talk regarding their batting, they spoke about the openers providing them with a start, however, the batters will have to come up with a plan. Further adds that it's the first game of the series and hoping they will have better days.
Josh Hazlewood is the Player of the Match for his excellent figures of (4-0-16-4) - He says it was not the ideal conditions to bowl as it was hot and sweaty, but they bowled well as a unit and the results showed. Mentions that the new ball flew off the bat in the beginning but they pulled things back and back of a length did work in their favour. Adds that he has been working hard on his T20 game, playing a lot of it.
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A dominant performance from Australia. Aaron Finch won the toss and since then it was all going his way. The first half of the first innings was dominated by the hosts but things started to turn around as once the top three fell, wickets started to fall like a pack of cards. It was the two frontline bowlers, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood who ran through the batting lineup. The chase was like a walk in the park for the two great Aussie openers - David Warner and Aaron Finch. They brought their respective fifties and crossed the victory line with ease.
Sri Lanka will be really disappointed with how things panned out. From being 100 for 1 to nose-diving and bundling out at 128 is not a good sign for them. It was always going to be a hard job for the bowlers to defend a below-par score on a pitch that was a belter for batting. The Sri Lankan bowlers tried their best but they were always behind the 8-ball and ultimately failed to even open their wicket column.
Australia go 1-0 up in the three-match T20I series without hardly breaking a sweat. A commanding performance from the Aussies, the bowlers did the job earlier and it was superbly followed by the openers to win by 10 wickets. The win was inevitable for the visitors even when the rain stopped the play as they were very close to the finishing line.
SIX! Aaron Finch finishes things off in style! Another shorter ball, outside off. Aaron Finch stays in his crease, opens the face of the bat once again, and upper cuts it over third man all the way for a biggie. Australia win by 10 wickets!
FOUR! Nicely done! Shorter ball, wide of off. Aaron Finch hangs back, opens the face of the bat and guides it towards third man for a boundary. Australia are just one away now!