Australia overcame a mighty scare to eventually beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in their women's T20 World Cup campaign opener and the fifth match of tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on Saturday.
The Defending Champions put up an excellent performance with the ball after losing the toss and complemented it with good batting despite a mini-collapse in the second innings of the match.
With the win, Australia Women are now placed second in the Group A points table of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. They have two points in one game and a healthy Net Run Rate (NRR) of +1.908. They are only behind New Zealand Women, who have an excellent NRR of +2.900 after their big win over India Women in their first match.
Earlier, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and opted to bat first. The Asia Cup 2024 champions, Sri Lanka, got off to a poor start as they scored no run for the first 15 balls that they faced. Soon enough, both the openers lost their wicket rendering Sri Lanka 6-2 in 3.2 overs. Megan Schutt provided Australia with the first breakthrough and Ashleigh Gardner complemented her well from the other end.
Sri Lanka’s Harshitha Madavi tried to regain some momentum for the team but fell to Australia’s relentless bowling after adding 23 runs to the team’s total. Nilakshi de Silva tried to contribute as well, with her 29-run knock, but others lost their wickets without adding significant runs and Sri Lanka were all-out for 93-7 in 20 overs. Megan Schutt stood out in the bowling department with a three-wicket haul in four overs giving away just 12 runs.
Chasing the meek total, Australia too faced a rocky start as they lost their skipper Alyssa Healy early and a brilliant piece of fielding by Sri Lanka’s Kavisha Dilhari brought about the end of Australia’s number three Georgia Wareham, meaning Australia were 14-2 in 2.1 overs.
Ellyse Perry too fell soon enough after contributing with a 17-run knock but opener Beth Mooney’ resilient knock meant Australia’s scoring rate was always above-par. Sri Lanka managed to get rid of Ashleigh Gardner as well but that was the last wicket they got, with Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield taking Australia over the line in 14.2 overs.
Schutt was awarded the Player of the Match award for her three-wicket haul in the first innings.
