Twitter Reactions: Dasun Shanaka helps Sri Lanka pull off a heist against Australia

Shanaka received the Player of the Match award for his nonchalant hitting at the end.

By Chaitanya Prakash

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Dasun Shanaka
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Dasun Shanaka. (Photo by Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Sri Lanka defeated Australia in the final T20I at Pallekelle by four wickets as the Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka played one of the best innings of his career, an unbeaten 54 off 25 deliveries. The Sri Lankan team came into the match with two defeats in a row and it looked like a third loss was on the cards when Shanaka came in to bat. But the Sri Lankan skipper quashed all the criticism with his mind-bending innings that allowed Sri Lanka to pull off a famous heist against the Aussies in front of a delirious crowd.

The Sri Lankan batters made a decent start to the chase before the dangerous Danushka Gunathilaka was sent back to the hut by Josh Hazlewood in the fourth over. Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka gave a good account of themselves in their 42-run partnership for the second wicket before both fell in the space of 15 deliveries.

Sri Lanka suffered a mini-collapse of their own as they lost three wickets for 12 runs, which derailed their chase. As all seemed lost, skipper Shanaka showed his ability to use the long handle as he launched a damaging assault on Hazlewood in the 18th over, which yielded 22 runs. The hard-hitting all-rounder saw his side home in a thrilling finale at the end.

Australia finished strongly on the back of Steve Smith’s innings

The Australian innings got off to a steady start as the experienced duo, much like in their previous outings, looked untroubled in the powerplay before skipper Aaron Finch was cleaned up by Maheesh Theekshana in the sixth over. David Warner continued his good form as he stitched a valuable partnership with Glenn Maxwell.

Things were looking ominous for the Sri Lankan bowlers as Maxwell was looking in the mood, but chaos ensued as Australia lost three wickets in three consecutive deliveries. With the Men in Yellow reeling at 85/4 in the 11th over, the calm head of Steve Smith and explosive hitting of Marcus Stoinis carried Australia to safety with a 48-run stand.

Stoinis fell in the 16th over trying to up the ante, and it brought last match’s hero Matthew Wade to the crease. The Aussies needed to score quick runs at the death, and the former Australian skipper did just that as he switched into T20 mode in the last couple of overs to see Australia finish strongly with 176/5. Maheesh Theekshana was exceptional with his variations for Sri Lanka as he ended up with figures of 2 for 25 in his four overs.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

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