In the first of the warm-up games ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, Australia trounced Sri Lanka by 2 wickets, courtesy Aaron Finch‘s hundred and Travis Head‘s fifty. Chasing 319, Australia were off to a flying start and held their innings owing to Finch’s outbursts. David Warner (19), Chris Lynn (19) and Moises Henriques (10) departed without lending much support, but the right-hander’s aggressive knock laid the platform for an Australian win. Sri Lanka fought hard till the end but Head’s fifty anchored the innings. Australia were without their regular skipper Steven Smith and pace spearhead Mitchell Starc for this encounter. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Australia (AUS) vs Sri Lanka (SL), warm-up match at The Oval
Opting to field, Australia had Sri Lanka in a fix after a breezy start. The subcontinental side were 71 for 3 inside 20 overs. Nonetheless, Angelo Mathews led his side’s comeback with a gutsy 95 and was ably supported by Chamara Kapugedera (30) and youngster, Asela Gunaratne’s 70. Gunaratne’s late onslaught helped Sri Lanka post a total in excess of 300 on a batting friendly turf. James Pattinson was the most expensive bowler, whereas Henriques and Pat Cummins remained economical.
In reply, Finch was in a punishing mood. He got his eye in and smacked almost every bowler out of the park. The top-order responsibility was led by him whereas Head’s calm head took the side over the line. Australia’s lower order delivered with starts but would be required to bat for much longer if required in the main draw of the marquee event. In absence of Smith, they looked very dependent on Finch and Warner.
Sri Lanka would be content with their efforts as they kept the game tight till the very end. Nuwan Pradeep’s twin strikes brought the Islanders back into the contest in a crunch moment of the match. However, they never curbed the run flow and threatened Australia with the run-rate despite posting 318 for 7.
Australia played Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekera with caution as rest of the bowlers were a tad bit expensive.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 318 for 7 in 50 overs (Niroshan Dickwella 41, Angelo Mathews 95, Asela Gunaratne 70; Moises Henriques 3 for 46, Josh Hazlewood 1 for 69) lose to Australia 319 for 8 in 49.4 overs (Aaron Finch 137, Travis Head 85*, Nuwan Pradeep 3 for 57, Lakshan Sandakan 2 for 69) by 2 wickets.
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