Twitter Reactions: Australia prevail in low-scoring thriller to claim series

Australia won the T20I series after a thrilling encounter at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday (June 8). The home crowd was treated by a spirited bowling display from the Sri Lankans, but the Men in Yellow defeated them by three wickets, thanks to the efforts of Matthew Wade, who was awarded the Player of the Match prize for his cameo. 

It was looking like another routine victory for the Aussies as they continued to attack the bowlers. Wanindu Hasaranga came on to bowl in the third over and the leggie outfoxed Aaron Finch, picking Sri Lanka’s first wicket of the series.

Australia continued with their attacking intent even after losing their skipper, but the Sri Lankan bowlers started to pull things back. Mitchell Marsh was caught plumb in front by Hasaranga in the fifth over. Although the Men in Yellow were miles ahead of the asking rate at the end of the powerplay, they had lost three wickets.

In the later stages of the match, Hasaranga dismissed Glenn Maxwell and Ashton Agar off consecutive deliveries in his final over and was whiskers away from grabbing a hat-trick. With all the recognised batters back in the hut, the responsibility fell on the experienced shoulders of Wade to guide his side home in a tricky chase.

Sri Lankan batters lose the plot again

Earlier, Australia had restricted Sri Lanka under 130 for the second time in a row in the series. Jhye Richardson, who came in as a replacement for the injured Mitchell Starc, impressed with his 3/26 in four overs. Kane Richardson also enjoyed a memorable outing as he scalped four Sri Lankan wickets for 30 runs. Glenn Maxwell also contributed with two wickets in his three overs.

Aaron Finch won the toss and opted to bowl once again in the series. The Sri Lankans were jolted early as Danushka Gunathilaka was dismissed by Glenn Maxwell in the first over of the innings. Pathum Nissanka followed his fellow openerafter being dismissed by Jhye Richardson in the third over. The pair of Charith Asalanka and Kusal Mendis steadied the ship for the Sri Lankans, but their dismissals in the space of three overs saw the Sri Lankan innings fizzle out for 124/9 in 20 overs.

But unlike their previous match, where they failed to take a solitary wicket, the Sri Lankan bowlers came to the party this time as they made Australia sweat in their chase of a modest target of 125. Hasaranga was exceptional on the night as he ended with figures of 4/33.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

Australia win the series with a match to play.

Matthew Wade top-scored in the chase with 26* #SLvAUS

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) June 8, 2022

A close low Score thriller but Matthew Wade do it for Aussies 🔥
Australia now 2-0 up in the series 🥂#SLvsAUS | #T20I | #ICC pic.twitter.com/NtjMhH58zq

— Pranav Mahajan (@welovescricket) June 8, 2022

A nervy finish but another T20 series in the bag! 😌

Matthew Wade won Player of the Match whereas both Jhye and Kane Richardson were great with the ball #SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/cZAKZWkuQl

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) June 8, 2022

Wanindu Hasaranga; what a champion. Taken to the cleaners less than 24hrs ago and now a roaring reply. How you react when you are under the pump is what defines you. WoWnindu reacts in style. Pride of 🇱🇰 #SLvAUS #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/Ndhi0mK00h

— Aravinthan Arunthavanathan (@Cricket_decoded) June 8, 2022

RCB's players at today:-

•Shahbaz Ahmed – 78(124) & 5/2.
•Akash Deep – 53*(18).
•Rajat Patidar – 85(167).
•Josh Hazlewood: 4-1-16-0
•Glenn Maxwell – 19(19) & 3-0-18-2
•Wanindu Hasaranga – 12(8) & 4-0-33-4.
•Sidharth Kaul – 16*(21) & 55/2

— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) June 8, 2022

A weird chase from Australia but Matthew Wade gets the job done. A reminder from Wanindu Hasaranga of his star quality (not that it was needed). Will be a key figure as this tour goes on. #SLvAUS

— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) June 8, 2022

That was a solid spell by the magician Wanindu Hasaranga after.

4 wickets for 33 runs when the team needed him the most.#SLvAUS @ThePapareSports pic.twitter.com/57v7rbvVU3

— Damith Weerasinghe (@Damith1994) June 8, 2022

One of those days when Wanindu Hasaranga become the one man army for Sri Lanka once again with his brilliant bowling figures of 4/33. But it wasn't enough.

Australia chase down 125 with 3 wickets in hand to win the T20I series 2-0 with one game still to go. #SLvsAUS pic.twitter.com/aSRtWfnHUM

— Saif Ahmed (@saifahmed75) June 8, 2022