Usman Khawaja‘s composed 89, following a collective bowling effort earlier in the day, helped Australia march to a comfortable five-wicket victory in their second warm-up fixture, against Sri Lanka on Monday (May 27). After the Australian spinners restricted Sri Lanka to a sub-par 239/8, Khawaja was the common denominator in the second, third and fourth-wicket partnerships that made the chase look a mere formality.
Australia’s reply though didn’t get off to an ideal start with Captain Aaron Finch falling to Nuwan Pradeep off an inswinging delivery that beat the inside edge and struck him on his pads. The appeal was turned down initially, but Sri Lankans reviewed the decision immediately. Khawaja then joined hands with Shaun Marsh, who came in at one-drop, to stitch an 80-run partnership for the second wicket that put the chase back on track.
If Australia didn’t let their run-rate drop below 5, Sri Lanka struggled, for majority of their innings, to get it past 4. They were restricted to 239 despite a composed half-century from Lahiru Thirimanne at the top and a Dhananjaya de Silva cameo towards the end after having elected to bat. Sri Lanka were comfortably placed at 110 for 2 at one stage, but the Australian spinners and part-timers turned the tables on them in the middle overs. If not for de Silva’s brisk 43 at the end, Sri Lanka could have folded for a sub-200 score. He put an end to de Silva’s cameo, seven short of a fifty.
Usman Khawaja‘s composed 89, following a collective bowling effort earlier in the day, helped Australia march to a comfortable five-wicket victory in their second warm-up fixture, against Sri Lanka on Monday (May 27). After the Australian spinners restricted Sri Lanka to a sub-par 239/8, Khawaja was the common denominator in the second, third and fourth-wicket partnerships that made the chase look a mere formality.
Australia’s reply though didn’t get off to an ideal start with Captain Aaron Finch falling to Nuwan Pradeep off an inswinging delivery that beat the inside edge and struck him on his pads. The appeal was turned down initially, but Sri Lankans reviewed the decision immediately. Khawaja then joined hands with Shaun Marsh, who came in at one-drop, to stitch an 80-run partnership for the second wicket that put the chase back on track.
If Australia didn’t let their run-rate drop below 5, Sri Lanka struggled, for majority of their innings, to get it past 4. They were restricted to 239 despite a composed half-century from Lahiru Thirimanne at the top and a Dhananjaya de Silva cameo towards the end after having elected to bat. Sri Lanka were comfortably placed at 110 for 2 at one stage, but the Australian spinners and part-timers turned the tables on them in the middle overs. If not for de Silva’s brisk 43 at the end, Sri Lanka could have folded for a sub-200 score. He put an end to de Silva’s cameo, seven short of a fifty.
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