ICC World Cup 2019: Warm-up Match 7, Australia vs Sri Lanka, Review – Aussies gain more confidence with a comprehensive win

Just the way we all expect Australia to perform in a tournament of this stature and magnitude, they managed to hammer the battered Lankan Lions convincingly in their second and final warm-up game of the tournament. No team could’ve asked for a better start than this as they can rest till the weekend where they begin their main campaign against Afghanistan.

After a disappointing performance in the previous fixture, Sri Lanka decided to bat first after winning the toss. They had a different opening combination for this game, as Lahiru Thirimanne came out to bat alongside Dimuth Karunaratne. The duo had to face some serious music off the new ball and almost survived the first ten overs without losing a wicket.

Karunaratne was dismissed on the penultimate delivery of the powerplay as Sri Lanka began to lose their way. Although Thirimanne was timing the ball well at one end, he kept losing partners with Kusal Perera not sticking around for long. The southpaw completed a fifty and he too followed the suit, as Lyon cleaned up his stumps with a peach.

The Sri Lankan middle order chipped in with bits and pieces contributions. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, who didn’t get to bowl in the previous game, bowled 9 and 8 overs respectively and gave the Lankans a horror time. Apart from Dhananjaya de Silva’s 41-ball 43, they had no other fruitful contribution from the middle order which made them settle for a mediocre total.

Sri Lanka registered 239 runs losing eight wickets in their quota of overs. Thirimanne’s 56 and Dhananjaya de Silva’s 43 were the only positives for the Islanders from this innings. Adam Zampa returned with a brace for the Aussies.

Khawaja’s brilliance increases Aaron Finch’s headache

Skipper Aaron Finch is yet to find a good score in England but his opening partner in the UAE in the series against Pakistan, Usman Khawaja, made a strong case once again to bag the opening slot. With the emergence of David Warner, many expected the position would go to him, but it seems likely that Warner might settle for the number three slot.

He was at his fluent best against the new ball but didn’t try anything extravagant. He kept picking the twos and threes regularly to ensure the scoreboard kept ticking as he added 80 runs for the second wicket with Shaun Marsh. Their partnership was well within the required rate and not for a moment did they allow Sri Lanka to get back.

After Marsh’s dismissal, Khawaja stitched another brilliant stand with Glenn Maxwell. It wasn’t the best of tracks for batting and even an in-form Maxwell found it difficult to score runs. Khawaja completed a half-century as the duo added 65 runs for the third wicket. Just when he was inching close to a hundred and was helping his side finish the game, Khawaja was sent back by Vandersay with an absolute scorcher of a wrong one.

Steve Smith decided to not come out to bat as Alex Carey and Pat Cummins hung in and finished the game for their team. In the 45th over, Carey smashed Vandersay over mid-off for a boundary to seal the victory.

Brief scores

Sri Lanka: 239/8 in 50 overs (Lahiru Thirimanne 56, Dhananjaya de Silva 43; Adam Zampa 2/43)

Australia: 241/5 in 44.5 overs (Usman Khawaja 89, Glenn Maxwell 36; Jeffrey Vandersay 2/51)

Result: Australia won by five wickets