Published: Sep 06, 2016, 08:39 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 06, 2016, 09:58 PM (IST)
Glenn Maxwell scored a swashbuckling century off just 49 deliveries to propel Australia to 263 for 3 in 20 overs against Sri Lanka in the first T20 International (T20I) at Pallekele, which is the highest ever T20I total, surpassing 260 that Sri Lanka got against Kenya. Australia made their intentions clear when the decided to with David Warner and Maxwell. This was the first time Maxwell was opening the batting for Australia and was under pressure right from the first over. The first over from Sachitra Senanayaka fetched just three runs. Suranga Lakmal bowled the second over for Sri Lanka and started off with a wide on leg side off his very first delivery. Maxwell was evidently nervous as he swung and missed the very next delivery. Maxwell managed to get off strike and Warner collected the first boundary of the match, top-edging one over the wicketkeeper. 11 came off Lakmal’s first over, after Maxwell cracked the final ball of the over past mid off. Full Cricket Scorecard: Sri Lanka vs Australia 1st T20I at Pallekele
Sri Lanka stand-in skipper Dinesh Chandimal brought in seamer Kasun Rajitha in the third over, He played in the T20I series against India earlier this year and was impressive on his debut. Warner smashed him over the mid-on fielder in the second ball of his spell to put the pressure on the youngster. He went around the wicket and Warner smashed him over mid-wicket this time, to collect yet another boundary. Warner hit four continuous boundaries of Rajitha’s first over to collect 19 off his first. SL vs AUS 1st T20I, Live Updates
Australia were off to a brilliant start and the score read 33 for no loss after three overs. A couple of boundaries came off the fourth over as Australia rounded off the fourth over, scoring as many as 13 runs off it. Sri Lanka at this stage desperately needed a breakthrough.
Senanayaka was brought back into the attack and he was welcomed with a reverse sweep, which sailed over the fence off Maxwell’s bat. Australia brought up their fifty off just 25 balls. Maxwell played the same shot again, but the ball fell just short of the fence. He attempted the reverse sweep for the third time in a row, but it just fell short of a couple of fielders running back. Senanayaka had the last laugh, as Warner missed a sweep and the ball crashed into his wickets. Australia had lost their first wicket in the fifth over, with 57 already on the board. Usman Khawaja walked in at No. 3 for Australia, with Australia already having scored 58 in the opening five overs of the match.
Chandimal brought on Thisara Perera in the final over of the powerplay. Perera went for 15 off his first over and Australia had scored 73 and lost just the one wicket at the end of the powerplay. This was Australia’s highest ever score in the powerplays. Dhananjaya de Silva was brought into the attack for the seventh over. He conceded one boundary and gave away just eight runs off that over. Debutant Sachith Pathirana was handed the ball in the eighth over. He gave away just four, much to the relief of his skipper.
Rajitha was brought back into the attack and Maxwell smashed a huge six over the bowler’s head to get to his fifty off just 27 deliveries. Rajitha conceded a couple of sixes in his over and conceded 13 off it, to go with 19 runs off his first over. Australia brought up their 100 off just 57 deliveries, with Maxwell still going strong. Khawaja at the other end, was happy to give the strike back to Maxwell. But Khawaja smashed Pathirana ver the long on fence to bring up his 50-run stand with Maxwell off just 30 balls. At the halfway stage of the innings, Australia were cruising along at 110 for 1, with a score well over 200 in sight.
The next two overs from Senanayaka and Pathirana fetched Australia 22 runs. Khawaja too at this point had started to score runs freely. Sri Lanka at this rate would have done very well to restrict Australia to under 200. Perera was brought back in the next over. Chamara Kapugedara took a good catch and flicked it back into play, but the replays showed that he had stepped on the ropes, to give Maxwell a huge relief in the 13th over. Maxwell had also gone past his highest T20I score. Sri Lanka finally breathed a sigh of relief as Khawaja holed out in the deep to give Pathirana his maiden T20I wicket, beinging the 97-run stand between Maxwell and Khawaja to an end. Travis Head announced his arrival to the crease with a magnificent six off his second delivery.
Maxwell brought up his maiden T20I hundred off just 49 deliveries. He looked shaky in the first few deliveries, but once he got his first boundary away, he never looked back and played a wonderful innings. Maxwell pounced on everything that came his way and did not allow the Sri Lankan bowlers to rest even for a moment. Australia brought up their 200 in the 17th over and looked set to score in excess of 230 at this stage and that is exactly what they did.
Sri Lanka by now were demoralised and it showed in their fielding. De Silva dropped a sitter in the deep to give Head a life. Australia already had 232 runs on the board at the end of the 18th over, with Maxwell threatening Aaron Finch’s record of highest individual score in T20Is of 156. He fell just short, but he now has the second highest individual score in the shortest format, which is an excellent achievement.
Head to played his part in the innings. He and Maxwell put on over 100 runs in quick time for the third wicket to put Australia on the cusp of eclipsing Sri Lanka’s highest team score of 260 and they did just that with Head smashing Perera over the fence on the penultimate delivery.
Sri Lanka conceded the One-Day International (ODI) series and will want to return to winning ways, beginning with this game. This will be Tillakaratne Dilshan’s penultimate international game. The second T20I at Colombo (RPS), will be his final international match for Sri Lanka
Earlier, it was Sri Lanka, who had won the toss and elected to bowl first. Sri Lanka made six changes from the final ODI. George Bailey, who had stayed back in Sri Lanka, following injury to Aaron Finch, finds a place in the playing XI. Maxwell too returned to the Australian side for this game. Sri Lanka have handed a T20I debut to Sachith Pathirana, who was impressive in the ODI series ahead of the T20I series.
Brief Scores:
Australia 263 for 3 in 20 Over (Glenn Maxwell 145*, Travis Head 45; Sachithra Senanayaka 1 for 49, Sachith Pathirana 1 for 45) vs Sri Lanka
