A steady opening stand from David Warner and skipper Aaron Finch after Adam Zampa's disciplined bowling effort helped Australia defeat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the 'Super 12' contest of the T20 World Cup 2021 on Thursday.
Chasing 154 in Dubai, Warner and Finch added 70 for the opening wicket, helping Australia get past the finish line with three overs to spare. Steve Smith (28 not out from 26 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (16* off seven deliveries) added final touches as Australia made it two in two by brushing aside an in-form Lankan contingent.
While Warner regained his rhythm, it was Zampa who bagged Player of the Match award for his exhibition with the ball. The 29-year-old leg-spinner picked two in his four overs while giving away just 12 runs.
Warner roars back to form
David Warner's got off the strike with a single towards square leg. Six overs later, he had added 63 runs in the Powerplay with skipper Aaron Finch (37 off 23 balls) to facilitate his side's run-chase. While Warner anchored the innings at the start, Finch was striking it at over 200 before Wanindu Hasaranga cleaned him up.
Finch's blitz consisted of 5 fours and a couple of sixes. The 34-year-old also the second fastest after Virat Kohli to clock 2500 runs in T20 Internationals.
Warner took charge after Finch's departure, notching a much-needed fifty in 31 deliveries. The southpaw shrugged off IPL woes and also silenced his critics to hit a 42-ball 65. His last half-century in T20 cricket came in Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) colours back in April.
With Warner back among runs and the bowling unit firing in unison, the Aussies have all bases covered ahead of their next fixture against rivals England on October 30.
"Knew that we had to take a chance against the quicks early on, with the spinners coming in later. When you're looking at the impact on the game, Zamps was terrific tonight. He was fantastic, got big wickets. That was a world class performance from him. Always a great battle (England) no matter the format," said captain Finch in the post-match presentation.
Starc's wizardry
A vicious in-swinging yorker by Mitchell Starc packed Kusal Perera (35 off 25 balls) and also triggered Sri Lanka's batting slump, reducing the 2014 T20 champions to 94 for five.
Perera whacked Starc for a six over long-on in his signature typical 'Sanath Jayasuriya style' but the speedster responded with a jaffa, reminding fans of his stunning yorker to Ben Stokes in the 2019 ODI World Cup. Just like Stokes, Perera couldn't even bring his bat down before the delivery disturbed the woodwork. Starc's unplayable delivery was arguably the ball of the tournament so far.
The islanders lost four quick wickets for 16 runs before Bhanuka Rakaspakse (33 not out off 26 deliveries) powered his side to a competitive total.
Put in to bat first, Sri Lanka suffered an early setback in the form of Pathum Nissanka, who was plucked by Pat Cummins in the Powerplay. The Lankan opener holed out trying to clear the boundary.
Zampa's brilliance triggers Lankan collapse
Kusal Perera and Charith Asalanka (35) steadied the innings with a 63-run stand for the second wicket in little over seven overs. A fifty partnership set the tone for Sri Lankan unit putting up a competitive total on the Dubai wicket. The two would've added a few more runs to the Lankan total but leg-spinner Adam Zampa made his presence felt with two quick wickets.
Zampa was arguably the pick of the Aussie bowling unit. He finished with figures of 2/12 in his four overs to orchestrate his side's middle overs show on a track that was favouring the batters.
His impressive bowling stint featured 12 dot deliveries that mounted the pressure on the opposition camp. Marcus Stoinis, on the other hand, had a bad day at work, finishing with 0/35 in his three overs.
