Master class from Hazlewood as world champs crush Sri Lanka

Aaron Finch and David Warner made short work of Sri Lanka’s total posting a century partnership for the first wicket

The chief destroyer of the Sri Lankan innings Josh Hazlewood with four wickets for 16 runs

The partnership between Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka was the only bright spark for Sri Lanka

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood produced a master class performance taking four wickets for 16 runs including three in one over as Australia lived up to their status as reigning T20 World Cup champions by crushing Sri Lanka by ten wickets to win the first T20I played in front of a near full house at the R. Premadasa Stadium yesterday, and go one-up in the three-match series.

Invited to bat first Sri Lanka were on course towards a challenging total when they were 100-1 in the 12th over courtesy a 61-run stand between Pathum Nissanka (36) and Charith Asalanka (38). But the return of Hazlewood for his second spell – his third of the innings spelt disaster for Sri Lanka as they lost Kusal Mendis (1), Banuka Rajapaksa (0) and skipper Dasun Shanaka (0), to be eventually bowled out for a disappointing 128 in 19.3 overs as the innings collapsed in a heap. 

Sri Lanka in fact lost their last nine wickets for 28 runs and Hazlewood who had got the initial breakthrough for Australia with the wicket of Danushka Gunathilaka for 26, had figures of 4 for 8 at that stage.

Mitchell Starc who bowled Nissanka with a brilliant slower ball to start the disintegration of the innings picked up two more wickets to end with figures of 3 for 26.   

Notwithstanding the top-class bowling performance of Player of the Match Hazlewood, ranked number three in both white ball formats (T20I and ODI) it was once again the malady that Sri Lanka’s batting has been suffering from over the years that caused their downfall – losing wickets in clusters and the failure of the batsmen to put enough runs on the board to give their bowlers a target to bowl at.

Australian openers Aaron Finch and David Warner made light of the target of 129, by posting a century stand 101 off 11.4 overs when the game was interrupted for the second time in the match to rain. At that stage Australia were well ahead of the Duckworth/Lewis required rate which was 66. But they need not have bothered for after a brief interruption the game resumed and the remaining runs were knocked off without much further ado.

Warner finished unbeaten on 70 off 44 balls (7 fours), the fifth time he has gone over the fifty mark in his last five T20I innings against Sri Lanka (100*, 60*, 57* and 65 before yesterday). As for Finch, his knock of 61* off 40 balls (4 sixes, 4 fours) would have laid to rest his critics who had questioned his form. Finch finished the match off in style by hitting the last ball of the 14th over from Dushmantha Chameera for six for Australia to win with six overs to spare.

The second T20I commences today at the same venue at 7 p.m.