134/0 (14.0)
CR : 9.57
128/10 (19.3)
CR : 6.56
Australia won by 10 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Josh Hazlewood
4/16
Just one needed now! This has been an emphatic performance from the visitors.
13.6
6
D Chameera to A Finch
SIX! Short and wide, Finch finishes things off in style as he upper cuts it over Thushara at third man for the maximum. Game, Set, and Match for the Australians as they win this by 10 wickets with 36 balls to spare. 19 runs off the over. The visitors put in a professional performance to take a 1-0 lead here.
Over 14
Australia 134/0
Aaron Finch61(40)
David Warner70(44)
Dushmantha Chameera0-48(4.0)
This is Sri Lanka's biggest T20I defeat at home. By 10-wickets with 36-balls remaining.
AUS won by 10 wickets
A comprehensive win for the Australians as they have been put in a thoroughly professional performance to win by 10 wickets with 36 balls to spare. This was not just a win, it was a statement from the defending champions that they are here to play, and play well they did.
Chasing a below-par total of 129, Australia chased it down in 14 overs with 10 wickets in hand. It was the David Warner-Aaron Finch show all the way as they got the job done very professionally to win the game. Finch remained unbeaten on 61 off 40 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes while Warner remained unbeaten on 70 off 44 balls with 9 fours to his name to get the job done. It was as professional a performance as it can get Nobody was spared as Hasaranga, Chameera, and Thushara were taken to the cleaners. Only Theekshana was spared a bit. They have had a great night and the visitors will definitely be a force to reckon with in the coming games.
Chasing a below-par total of 129, Australia chased it down in 14 overs with 10 wickets in hand. It was the David Warner-Aaron Finch show all the way as they got the job done very professionally to win the game. Finch remained unbeaten on 61 off 40 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes while Warner remained unbeaten on 70 off 44 balls with 9 fours to his name to get the job done. It was as professional a performance as it can get Nobody was spared as Hasaranga, Chameera, and Thushara were taken to the cleaners. Only Theekshana was spared a bit. They have had a great night and the visitors will definitely be a force to reckon with in the coming games.
Earlier in the game, it was Aaron Finch who won the toss and opted to field first on a dry pitch here at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Sri Lanka got off to a great start as they scored 50 runs off the first six overs and 50 of the next six overs. They were 100-2 after 12 overs. But they actually lost their last 9 wickets for 28 runs. Patthum Nissanka (36), Gunathilaka (26), and
Asalanka (38) was the chief contributor. Hasaranga chipped in with 17, but the innings totally faded away.
From Australia's point of view, Josh Hazlewood was the star as he did the star turn with his 4-16 in 4 overs including three wickets in a single over. Mitchell Starc chipped in towards the end with his 3-26 in 4 overs. A wicket for Kane Richardson and Agar kept it tight with his 25 runs off 4 overs. All in all, a great bowling performance by the Aussies as they kept the Lankans down to 128 a below-par total on this surface. It meant that the Australians did half the job and then a superb batting performance to win the game by 10 wickets.
Josh Hazlewood | Man of the Match: "No, it wasn't good conditions to bowl fast(chuckles). With a lot off sweats and slippery conditions it was hard to grip the ball. With the new ball it was fairly difficult to bowl but once it got old, the back of length deliveries were good. We stick onto it and we have the results in front of us. I am happy with the work I have done tonight."
Dasun Shanaka | Sri Lanka Captain: "The batting let us down. Everything went down. It's the first game and I hope we improve in the coming games. It keeps on happening which is a worry and hopes we plan better in the middle overs to come back stronger with better planning. Hope to come back with stronger and better plans tomorrow. We need better planning in execution with the bat in the middle overs and hope we can do well in the series. These mistakes simply cannot keep on happening. "
Aaron Finch | Australia Captain: "Ahh, I think we have had a similar group for a quite while now. They know their roles and responsibilities. They do that with a clear mind. In the new ball it was easy to bat and Sri Lanka batted really well in the powerplay. we did well to comeback in the middle overs. Yeah, it was happy to be among some runs. See, Theekshana was very good. Surviving that phase was a good fortune for me. And with a bit of rain it made all easy for us in the end."
So, that's a wrap to the coverage of the first T20I between Sri Lanka and Australia in Colombo with the visitors thrashing the hosts by 10 wickets. It remains to be seen whether the hosts can fight back tomorrow night when we bring you the second T20I in Colombo. Do join us for that game and for all other cricketing action across the globe on our network. For now, this is me Ayan Chatterjee bidding adieu to the commentary box on behalf of my esteemed and beloved co-commentator Akshaya Krishna Polya alongside our scorer/analyst Paras Yadav. Till next time we meet again, cheers!