ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 - 32nd Match
(Pool A: Australia vs Sri Lanka at Sydney)
Maxwell's hundred trumps Sangakkara's
| Australia | vs | Sri Lanka |
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| 376/9 (50) | 312/9 (46.2) | |
| Australia won by 64 runs | ||
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| Photo © ICC |
A young punk scored a punkish first century - the fastest by an Australian and one ball slower than the fastest by anybody at a World Cup, a master scored a classic third consecutive hundred - the first man to do so at a World Cup, there were five supporting half-centuries, but eventually the Sydneu runathon was decided by Australia's superior bowling and fielding under pressure. Glenn Maxwell finally got that hundred he has been promising to take Australia to 376, but Kumar Sangakkara's masterclass kept Sri Lanka in the game until Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews were eliminated - Chandimal injured and Mathews out to a slower bouncer from Shane Watson - in the 42nd over with 94 runs still required.
Matches between Test sides have been pretty formulaic this World Cup: bat first, score 300, win easy. Pakistan have bucked the trend by winning with 230 on the board, and Sri Lanka have shown 300 can be chased. With Sangakkara and Tillakaraten Dilshan in form, a 130-run stand in just under 20 overs told Australia this was not going to be an easy win. In the middle overs, though, Australia's two gun bowlers, Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner, and Mitchell Johnson created enough pressure to take key wickets at the right times. Don't go by the 64-run margin, this match was much closer. When Chandimal and Mathews counterattacked, this World Cup record chase was not far out of reach.
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| Photo © ICC |
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