Australia Victory: Defending T20 World Cup Champions Secure Comfortable Six-Wicket Win Over Sri Lanka in Sharjah
Women’s T20 World Cup, Sharjah
Sri Lanka 93-7 (20 overs): De Silva 29* (40); Schutt 3-12
Australia 94-4 (14.2 overs): Mooney 43* (38), Perry 17 (15)
Australia won by six wickets
Australia Victory
Australia victory was on the line as the six-time T20 World Cup champions faced a slight challenge during their match, stumbling to 35 for 3 while chasing a modest target of just 94 runs. Australia victory became more certain when opener Beth Mooney’s impressive unbeaten performance of 43 runs led them to a comfortable win with 34 balls remaining.
Australia’s opponents, Sri Lanka, struggled significantly during their innings, delivering a disappointing batting performance as they managed to crawl to a mere 93 for 7 after their 20 overs. Australia, known for their ruthless approach, started the match predictably strong, applying pressure from the outset.
Australia, despite Sri Lanka’s valiant effort to fight back—particularly after claiming three early wickets on a slow pitch that provided uneven bounce—ultimately paid the price for posting such a meager total. Australia’s depth and strength in their lineup once again proved to be a decisive factor in their success.
Australia’s sluggish pitch hindered their typically aggressive style of play. Australia’s captain, Alyssa Healy, fell early for just four runs, and Georgia Wareham was run out in a clumsy mix-up for a mere three runs. Australia’s star all-rounder, Ellyse Perry, was dismissed after scoring 17 runs, adding to the early struggles.
Australia, despite being dropped on 22, saw Mooney remain composed, demonstrating her ability to navigate through the intense heat and pressure. Australia also experienced some uncharacteristic errors in the field, including five front-foot no-balls and a dropped catch by Darcie Brown. However, Australia’s Healy’s side recovered admirably, displaying a relentless and disciplined performance that effectively stifled Sri Lanka’s efforts throughout the match.
Australia Victory
Other scores of 29 by Nilakshi de Silva and 23 by Harshitha Samarawickrama did not help the cause as much as it was required, for the momentum after losing their captain early was quite tough for them to maintain. Just like always, this again cost the team dearly.
Sri Lanka now face the prospect of a disappointing group-stage exit after suffering two defeats on the trot. They will have to produce something significant against India on Wednesday, coupled with other positive results, to have even a remote chance of proceeding to the next round.
Australia face New Zealand on Monday, a tantalising prospect after the White Ferns’emphatic win over India in their opener.
Brilliant Mooney Saves Australia
In contrast, Sri Lanka’s batters didn’t reply well enough to Megan Schutt’s tight bowling in the initial powerplay. Ash Gardner took the much-needed scalp of captain Chamari Athapaththu at the end of 24 overs, and Schutt had all her tallies at 3 for 12.
Darcie Brown had a tough day with her run-up, and Australia looked in some trouble against the stronger side. Of Sri Lanka’s pathetic powerplay score of 23 for 2, 14 of those were extras or free hits, which told the story of how ineffective they were.
Batting was the difficult proposition for which no amount of right bowling could be done even by a world-class side that features an all-rounder batting at eight. Alyssa Healy must have been exhausted and out of breath by then after keeping for 20 overs, so perhaps she was not expecting a straight one from Udeshika Prabodhani. Georgia Wareham was run out by a great throw by Kavisha Dilhari, and Ellyse Perry, in playing so well with 17 runs from 15 balls, made an odd decision to try to get back to the spinner, as the ball was holding its line low.
Australia victory was evident as Mooney, despite being visibly exhausted—her shirt drenched in sweat and an ice pack resting on her head during the drinks break—showed determination and stamina by continuing to rotate the strike with singles and twos, especially when boundaries were hard to come by.
Australia victory highlighted the challenges presented by the Sharjah ground, which appears to be heavily influenced by its pitch and long boundaries. Australia victory serves as a warning that if even the world’s best and fittest team finds it difficult to score, other teams will surely be concerned.
Australia Victory
“Solid Performance, Yet Room for Improvement” – Reaction
The Player of the Match Megan Schutt said, “We could have executed a bit more cleanly in the game. The outfield was very slow, which meant we had to make some changes, and definitely, there are areas we need to address moving forward.
”Although, of course, it was tough in these challenging heat conditions, we feel like we have finally acclimatized, especially since we hadn’t played here before.”.
More in a nutshell from Australia’s skipper Alyssa Healy, “We played well enough, but there’s plenty of room for improvement. We adjusted really well to the conditions and were able to hold our nuts and get some late overs during the innings.
“The depth of the squad is immense. It’s amazing to have such a dilemma; we are so strong with our batting. We have players who can move up and down the order, and that gives us many options.”
Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu reflected on her team saying, “We have played some good cricket over the last two months. We havent been able to adjust to these tracks, especially low bounce and short pitches. We can’t complain, but we have got to learn to play in those conditions and always be looking to play positive cricket.”
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