Dubai, Oct 28 (UNI) A fighting 26-ball 33* down the order by Bhanuka Rajapakse helped Sri Lanka recover to post a decent total of 154/6 following a middle-order wobble during their T20 World Cup Super 12 match against Australia here on Thursday.
Oz pacer Mitchell Starc (2/27) produced a vicious in swinging yorker to remove the danger man Kusal Perera (35 off 25 balls); Perera's dismissal triggered a Lankan top-order collapse that saw the Island nation lose four wickets in the space of 16 runs to reach 94/5.
The downfall came after Perera and Charith Asalanka (35 off 27) added 63 runs for the second wicket to take the batting side to 78/1 by the 10th over.
Losing the toss, the Lankan side didn’t get the desired start and lost their opener Pathum Nissanka (7 off 9) in the third over to Pat Cummins (2/34).
After the wicket, Asalanka and Perera steadied the ship with a crucial partnership to set the foundation for a strong total. Asalanka was more aggressive of the duo as 53 runs came off the Power play.
The partnership was broken by spinner Adam Zampa (2/22), who removed Asalanka in the 10th over. Perera soon departed as well while Avishka Fernando (4 off 7) also lost his wicket cheaply to Zampa in the 12th Over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4 off 2) soon followed as the Lankan dugout looked worried at 105/5 by the end of the 15th over.
Rajapaksa then came to the rescue of the Asian outfit by adding crucial runs at the death while going after Marcus Stoinis (0/35 in 3 overs). Skipper Dasun Shanaka (12 off 19), Chamika Karunaratne (9 off 6) also made some contributions down the order as Lankans went past the 150-run mark.
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