Defending champions Australia opened their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with an easy win against Sri Lanka. Alyssa Healy-led Australia beat Chamara Atapatu’s Sri Lankan team by 6 wickets in match 5.
After restricting Sri Lanka to 93/7 in the first innings, opener Beth Mooney chased down the target with an unbeaten 43 off 38 balls as Australia won their first match by 6 wickets in 5.4 overs. There were others.
Megan Schutt (3/12) and Sophie Mullenix (2/20) excelled with the ball, while Australia’s batting line-up kept things under control. The high temperature took its toll, but Mooney’s not-out innings gave Australia a comfortable victory.
The result left Sri Lanka without a point in two matches and faces difficulties in Group A with more matches against India and New Zealand.
Summary of Australia’s win by 6 wickets:
Beth Mooney played a key role with the bat, as three wickets fell after the powerplay, leaving Australia struggling to chase down 94 runs.
Alyssa Healy (4) and Georgia Wareham (3) were dismissed early, but Ellyse Perry revived the innings with a quick 17, then Sukandika Kumara bowled her and Australia were 35/3.
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Although quick scoring was difficult, there was no pressure due to the low target, and the game was almost won when Ashley Gardner was dismissed for 12 runs.
The match ended quickly as Phoebe Litchfield scored 9 and Mooney (43*) completed the win, with 6 wickets to spare and 5.4 overs to spare.
First Innings Story:
Asia Cup winners Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first, but the Australian bowlers in the powerplay stopped the runs by dismissing both the openers early.
Vashmi Gunaratne got out lbw off Mugan Shott for no runs off 10 balls. After that, skipper Chamara Atapatu too was lbw off Ashley Gardner for just 3 runs.
The Sri Lankan team tried to take control of the innings but were only 23/2 at the end of the powerplay, and another wicket soon fell when Kavisha Dilhari was bowled lbw by Sophie Mullenix.
Harshitha Samara Wickrama resisted with 23 runs, but Magan Shot ended his innings and the Sri Lankan team could not score more.
Nilakshka Silva (29* runs) and Anushka Sanjeevani (16 runs) added some runs in the final overs, but the Australian bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to 93/7.
Sri Lanka now have to win their remaining two matches to have any chance of reaching the knockout stages of Group A.
The next match is against India, scheduled for Wednesday in Dubai, while the final group match against New Zealand will be played on October 12.
Megan Schutt discusses her match-winning performance; Australia vows to improve
Megan Schutt spoke to the media after Australia’s victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday, where she performed brilliantly and won the “Man of the Match” award.
Shott produced a brilliant bowling performance, restricting Sri Lanka to 93/7, and took 3 wickets for 12 runs in his four overs.
The 31-year-old said variety in his bowling was the key to success on a sluggish Sharjah pitch.
“I also use my replacement balls in my home country of Australia, it’s just that here they have to be used at a different length,” Schutte explained.
“When I’m bowling in the last over, I try to pitch nice and full so they play me towards the ground, which I probably do at Bagbush as well.”
“Of course, you sometimes suffer a bit of punishment in Australian conditions, when the fast pitches have big distances, but the big boundaries and slow pitches make my change balls more effective.”
“It will be interesting to see how teams attack me in the future.”
