Sri Lanka’s collapse and Australia’s comeback, how it happened?

Sri Lanka openers Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka set the platform for a big total which the other batsmen failed to capitalize on

Australian captain Pat Cummins removing both openers was the game changer according to Adam Zampa

Lucknow: There are always two sides to a story. Sri Lanka’s shocking batting collapse and Australia’s remarkable comeback to change things around and record their first win in the ongoing Cricket World Cup were the topic of discussion at the post-media conference at Ekana Stadium, Lucknow on Monday.

Player of the Match Adam Zampa put it down to the way his captain Pat Cummins who has been short of performance and leadership brought Australia back into the game after Sri Lanka openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera had laid the platform for a big total by putting on 125 for the first wicket.

“Pat, he kind of led from the front. His spell changed the momentum of the game. And then same as in the field, that run out, those little things can turn scores from 210 to 260 and its game on. So, he particularly led from the front,” said Zampa who took four wickets to break the middle of Sri Lanka’s batting.

Cummins took the wickets of both openers as well as affecting a run out with a direct hit to get rid of Dunith Wellalage.  

“The conversation around the drinks breaks and even the early wickets there was to lift the energy a bit and I thought the fielders did a really good job of that. The ring kind of tightened up and then Davey’s [Warner] couple of catches, changed the game for us,” Zampa said.

Nissanka who scored back-to-back fifties said the contributing factor to Sri Lanka’s defeat was not aiming for a total closer to 300 runs.

“Despite our promising start, we deeply regret not being able to sustain it, resulting in us being limited to a score of 209 runs. On a wicket like this, I believe we should aim for a total closer to 300 runs.”

“To be candid, the opposition’s bowlers consistently hit good areas during the middle overs, which created a challenging situation for our batsmen. Unfortunately, we couldn’t handle it as effectively as we would have liked. Had we managed to play better, we could have achieved a total of 300 runs.”

“The pitch appeared to ease up somewhat once the lights came on. This turned into Australia’s favour, enabling them to bat with their usual flow and adopt a positive approach. Our bowlers, on the other hand, struggled to maintain lengths. If we had performed better, we could have set the stage for a competitive match,” Nissanka said.

For Sri Lanka, things are not going the way they thought it would. In the first two games they topped 300 plus and yet ended on the losing side and on Monday they were bundled out for 209, which effectively ended their chance of beating Australia.

“It’s the nature of cricket. We performed admirably in the previous two games, but such fluctuations can occur. Our focus now is to learn from our mistakes and strive for strong performances in the upcoming matches,” said Nissanka. “Our mental level is good. We hope to play well in these matches and win them.”

SRI LANKA’S REMAINING WORLD CUP FIXTURES

21 October v Netherlands at Lucknow

26 October v England at Bengaluru (d/n)

30 October v Afghanistan at Pune (d/n)

2 November v India at Wankhede (d/n)

6 November v Bangladesh at Delhi (d/n)

9 November v New Zealand at Bengaluru (d/n)