Marcus Stoinis’ whirlwind fifty blew away Sri Lanka in Australia’s second Super-12 stage game in T20 World Cup 2022. Stoinis’ fastest fifty turned the tide in Australia’s favour as they ended up chasing down the target of 158 with 21 balls to spare to win the game by seven wickets at Perth Stadium.
Stoinis went absolutely ballistic as Australia found themselves in trouble after losing Glenn Maxwell's wicket in the 13th over. From the last 10 balls he faced, Stoinis hit as many as six sixes to end Sri Lanka's chances of making a comeback in the game. In process, he also ended up hitting the fastest fifty for Australia in T20Is from just 17 balls breaking record of teammates David Warner and Maxwell.
Poor start
Sri Lanka got an early shock when they walked out to defend the total. Binura Fernando got injured and went off the field after bowling just five deliveries. But Australia did not get off to a flyer. Opener Warner (11) got dismissed by Maheesh Theekshana in the fifth over. Mitchell Marsh and Finch struggled initially and played too many dot balls during the fielding restrictions. The hosts had 33/1 on the board after six overs.
Marsh took on Wanindu Hasaranga in the eighth over hitting him for a four and six. Finch joined him too with a six off Dhanajaya de Silva in the ninth over. But Marshcould not continue the onslaught and got out for a run-a-ball 17.
Maxwell's cameo
Maxwell walked out to bat with positive intent and got a boundary off the second ball he faced. Hasaranga had a torrid time in the middle. Maxwell hit him for two sixes and one four in the 10th over as Australia had 85/2 on the board after halfway stage. Finch continued to even rotate the strike and got a second chance via dropped catch by substitute fielder Ashen Bandara. His partner was not as lucky as him. Bandara made up for his mistake and took Maxwell's catch off the next ball.
Stoinis' explosive knock
When Stoinis walked out to bat, Australia needed 69 runs to win from 46 deliveries. The big worry was that Finch was struggling to even deal in singles. Stoinis tried to take the pressure off with a boundary off the third ball he faced. He hit two more boundaries off Shanaka's over to get the equation to 50 runs from last six overs.
Hasaranga was brought back into the attack and Stoinis decided to capitalise by hitting him for two sixes and four. Hasaranga conceded 53 runs from three overs he bowled. Stoinis did not lose the momentum as took on Theekshana as well. Theekshana had conceded just three runs from his first two overs. The all-rounder hit him for three sixes in the 16th over to get to his half-century from just 17 balls. He hit another maximum in the next over and remained unbeaten for 59 off just 18 deliveries including four fours and six sixes. On the other hand, Finch hit just one boundary in his unbeaten 42-ball 31.
Horrible start
Earlier, Finch won the toss and opted to field first. On a typical bouncy Perth wicket, Australian pacers troubled Sri Lankan openers. Kusal Mendis could not last for long as he got dismissed by Pat Cummins in the second over.
After the powerplay overs, Sri Lanka had 36 runs on the board. Nissanka struggled to even score with a strike rate of 100. Dhananjaya tried to do some damage in the middle overs but Warner's acrobatic catch cut-short his innings in the 12th over. Ashton Agar got the breakthrough. Dhananjaya scored 26 runs from 23 deliveries including three fours.
Nissanka struggles
In the next over, Nissanka got two lives as he survived a run out chance and was dropped by Pat Cummins. But he did not make use of it. In the 14th over, he got run out. The left-handed batter scored 40 runs from just 45 deliveries including just two boundaries. Sri Lanka crossed the 100-run mark in the 15th over. Charith Asalanka launched an onslaught in the slog overs.
Wickets tumble
Bhanuka Rajapaksa (7) tried to join the party but lost his wicket to Cummins in the 15th over. Skipper Shanaka could not play the role of finisher. Finch took a gamble by introducing Maxwell in the 16th over but he got the big wicket of Shanaka (3). Hasaranga (1) struggled to cope with the extra bounce generated by Josh Hazlewood and gave an easy catch to Matthew Wade.
Fiery finish
Asalanka found the perfect partner in Karunaratne. The all-rounder hit a few boundaries. In the last over, Asalanka went all guns blazing against Cummins and hit him for a four and a six. Karunaratne finished with a boundary to help Sri Lanka post a fighting total of 157/6 on the board. Asalanka remained unbeaten for 38 off 25 deliveries whereas Karunaratne contributed with seven-ball 14 cameo.
NRR improved
The big win also helped Australia improve their net run rate (NRR) to an extent. Now they have -1.555 NRR and placed fourth on Group 1 below New Zealand (+4.450), England (+0.620) and Sri Lanka (+0.450)
