ICC World Cup 2019: Match 20, SL v AUS – Australia Player Ratings

The result of the game between Australia and Sri Lanka was on the expected lines. The Asian team couldn’t pull off a miracle in this match but the way they lost this game was utterly disappointing. Sri Lanka had the toss advantage and they put Australia into bat first. The first innings of the match was completely dominated by the Aussie skipper Aaron Finch.

He played some unbelievable cricket in a record-tumbling inning. The 32-year-old scored 153 runs in this game – his highest score in ODI cricket. A 73 from Steve Smith and an unbeaten 46 from Glenn Maxwell helped Australia post a massive total of 334/7 on the board. Isuru Udana and Dhananjaya de Silva picked up two wickets each.

In the chase, Sri Lanka got off to a brilliant start. Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera led the fight back in this game and scored 97 and 52 runs respectively. At one stage, the team’s score was 153/1 in 23.4 overs and they were cruising along through a victory comfortably. However, they fell apart just as quickly and the batsmen started queueing back to the pavilion one after the other. In the end, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 247 runs falling a massive 87 runs short of the target.

Here are the England Player Ratings for the match

David Warner – 2/10

David Warner and his slow knocks in this tournament have been a huge puzzle. After striking a wonderful century in the last game, the left-hander drifted away from his natural game and played a surprising inning. While his partner went all guns blazing after the bowling attack, Warner kept on playing dot after dot. It looked quite ugly as he failed to convert it into a big one and ultimately got out after scoring 26 runs from 48 balls.

Aaron Finch – 9.5/10

It was a dream outing for Aaron Finch in this game. He missed out on the opportunity to get to triple figures on a couple of instances earlier. But this time around, his intentions were quite clear. He looked to go after the bowling and smashed 15 fours and 5 sixes during his knock. Finch got out for 153 runs which is also the highest World Cup score by an Australian captain. The record was previously held by Ricky Ponting who mustered 140 runs in World Cup 2003 final.

Usman Khawaja – 2/10

Usman Khawaja got an opportunity to bat at his desired batting position at number three. When he walked out to bat, there were plenty of overs left. However, the 32-year-old failed to make the opportunity count. All he could do was score 10 runs from 20 balls at a strike rate of 50.

Steve Smith – 9/10

Steve Smith looked really confident in this match and played a gem of a knock after he walked out to bat at four. He played some glorious strokes on either side of the wicket and entertained the fans. The former Australian skipper mustered 73 runs from just 59 deliveries. He laced 7 boundaries and smashed one six in his knock.

Glenn Maxwell – 9/10

Glenn Maxwell was tasked to finish off the Australian innings on a high and he didn’t disappoint. He constantly kept hitting the big shots and subjected the bowlers to some great pressure. In only 25 balls, he raced his way to 46 and hit 5 fours and a six. In the 10 overs that he bowled in this game, Maxwell conceded 46 runs but couldn’t pick up any wickets.

Shaun Marsh – 1/10

Shaun Marsh slowed down the proceedings slightly towards the end with his slow knock. He consumed 9 balls at that stage of the innings where he was required to go bonkers after the bowlers. He could only score 3 runs in the match and his poor tournament continues.

Alex Carey – 3/10

Alex Carey didn’t have too many balls left in the innings when he got his chance to bat. He was run out for 4 after some brilliant piece of work from Isuru Udana. Carey had a good day behind the stumps and pouched some important catches.

Pat Cummins – 6/10

It wasn’t one of those great days at the office for Pat Cummins. He looked slightly off-colour early on when the Sri Lankan openers went after him. While he was very expensive in this first three overs, he did come back well later in the match. Cummins dismissed Angelo Mathews first and then wrapped up the Sri Lankan innings by getting the better of Nuwan Pradeep.

Mitchell Starc – 9/10

Just like Cummins, Mitchell Starc started off the match on an expensive note. However, he bounced back strong. As soon as he sniffed an opportunity, he was quick to pounce on it and finished with a 4-wicket haul. He dismissed the dangerous Kusal Perera first. Then, he followed it up with the wickets of Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardene and Thisara Perera.

Kane Richardson – 8.5/10

Kane Richardson had a great outing in this game and is slowly cementing his spot in the eleven. The fast bowler was quite economical when compared to some of the other bowlers. He was the one who dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne when he was batting on 97. This initiated the downfall in the Sri Lankan innings. He went on to pick the wickets of Isuru Udana as well as Lasith Malinga. Richardson conceded 47 runs in the 9 overs that he bowled.

Jason Behrendorff – 3/10

Jason Behrendorff, who was drafted into the eleven for this game, picked up a crucial wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne. He was targetted early on by the opposition but the left-arm seamer came back well in the middle overs to restrict the run-flow. He ended with the figures of 1/59 in his nine overs.