In the 14th match of CWC 2023, Sri Lanka faced Australia at the Ekana Sports City of Lucknow. Surprisingly, Sri Lanka’s promising start ends in a bizarre collapse, giving Australia their much-needed breakthrough win by 5 wickets.
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Sri Lanka and Australia are struggling to stay afloat in the CWC 2023. At Lucknow, both teams were looking for their first win of the tournament. A solid performance by the opening batters from the Sri Lankan side raised hopes among the Lankan fans. However, Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka could not suffice for a weak Sri Lankan middle-order. As soon as the first wicket fell at 125, the rest of the Lankan squad made short visits to the pitch and collected only 209 runs. Individual performance by Perera (78) and Nissanka (61) went into vain as their team failed to utilize the headstart.
Australia, in response, maintained their comfortable batting pace and reached 209 within 35.2 Overs. The entire Aussie batting lineup looked relaxed as they had a very winnable target to achieve. Mitchell Marsh collected 52 runs, while Josh Inglis shined in the middle-order with his 58 runs innings. This collective contribution by the Aussie batters ensured a smooth victory over Sri Lanka. The Aussie bowling lineup eliminated Sri Lankan middle and lower-order batters within 209 runs.
Adam Zampa's leg-spin magic helped him to four wickets in Lucknow 🪄
It also wins him the @aramco #POTM 👊#CWC23 | #AUSvSL pic.twitter.com/5CqSYxkwCq
— ICC (@ICC) October 16, 2023
Adam Zampa received the Player of the Match title for securing 4 wickets within 47 runs. Zampa, together with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, further clouded Sri Lanka’s hope to reach the Semifinals of this CWC. Poor coordination within the middle and lower order cultivated the total collapse yesterday.
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Sri Lanka shares the bottom of the point table with the Netherlands. With their 0-3 losing streak, Sri Lanka’s chance of getting into the Semifinals is decreasing. Meanwhile, Australia’s breakthrough victory should boost their confidence for the upcoming matches. Sri Lanka is set to face the Netherlands on the 21st of October, and Australia will face a significantly wounded Pakistan on the 20th of October.
