Australia is touring Srilanka for a long all-format contest. Playing their second T20I of the 3-match series, Australia won the close match by 3 wickets. With the victory, they have already clinched the series against the hosts.
During the 2nd T20I that was being played at Premadasa Stadium, Australia yet again won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Sri Lanka was given the opportunity to bat first, and unlike the first match, they didn’t get off to a good start and struggled in the powerplay. The middle overs were decent, with Charith Asalanka and Kusal Mendis putting out a solid partnership, but the loss of wickets at regular intervals, particularly at the back end, cost them dearly. Jhye and Kane, the Richardson duo, took 7 wickets between them for Australia, with Glenn Maxwell also taking a couple of key wickets. The bowling effort was excellent, limiting the opponents to just 124 runs.
During the chase, Australia got off to a fast start, and a large portion of the target was quickly chased. In the middle overs, they lost a flurry of wickets as the Lankan spinners dominated, and Wanindu Hasaranga once again demonstrated why he is so highly regarded. With the crowd behind the home team, Hasaranga ripped through the middle order as Australia fell to 99/7. Wade and Richardson, on the other hand, did not panic; they kept their cool and snatched the final runs. and went on to win the T20I series.
For saving the match, Matthew Wade was awarded the player of the match award. The team must be appreciated for its all-round team effort and non-reliance on just one player.
In the earlier match, Australia had won the match single-handedly with the opening pair hitting a 134-run partnership as they went on to win the match by 10 wickets.
The next T20 international will be played on the 11th. This series will be followed by 5 match ODI series and 2 match Test series.
