Australia beat Sri Lanka by 2 wickets in warm-up match

Australia yesterday beat Sri Lanka by 2 wickets with an equal number of balls to spare in the warm up match ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament. 

Put to bat first, Sri Lanka scored 318 for the loss of 7 wickets in its 50 overs. Australia replied with 319 for 8 in 49.4 overs. 

For Sri Lanka Captain Angelo Mathews showed he is fit and raring to go with a highest score of 95 off 106 balls. The innings included two 6s and 9 fours. Asela Gunaratne was unbeaten 70 off 56 balls with two 6s and eight 4s. The pair steadied the Lankan innings after five wickets had fallen for 152.

Earlier on Niroshan Dickwella was out for 41 and Upul Tharanga was out early with 13. Kusal Mendis only managed to score 5 whilst Dinesh Chandimal managed 17. Chamara Kapudegara scored 30 and S. Prasanna scored 31.

For Australia, Aaron Finch scored a match winning century. He got out when the Australian score was 218 for 4 and his innings of 137 off 109 balls included six 6s and 11 fours. The finisher was T.M. Head who remained unbeaten 85 off 73 balls. The dangerous David Warner managed only 19 runs off 32 balls. Nuwan Pradeep excelled with three wickets for 57 whilst Lasith Malinga was more economical with 1 for 32 off eight overs. Lakshan Sandakan took two for 69.

Bangladesh rise above SL in ODI rankings

ESPNCricinfo: Bangladesh have climbed up to No. 6 on the ICC ODI rankings on the back of their first victory over New Zealand in conditions outside of home. The five-wicket win came in Dublin where the teams were engaged in a tri-nation tournament with hosts Ireland ahead of the Champions Trophy. Bangladesh now stand above three Full Members - Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies - and are 18 rating points behind England. In the current rankings cycle, results between May 2016 and 2017 get 100% weightage and those between May 2014 and 2016 get 50%. Bangladesh won six out of 14 completed games between May 2016 and 2017, including a drawn series with Sri Lanka. They qualified for the Champions Trophy, a tournament they will play for the first time in 10 years. Bangladesh had 18 wins in 28 completed games between May 2014 and 2016, when they made the World Cup quarter-final and earned series wins over India, South Africa and Pakistan.

The top-eight teams on September 30 this year gain automatic qualification to the 2019 World Cup. At the May 1 rankings update, Bangladesh were in seventh place with 91 points, with Pakistan only three points behind them. Their promotion now to No. 6 gives them a lot more breathing space.