Marcus Stoinis spared Australia’s blushes at the T20 World Cup on Tuesday as the hosts smashed Sri Lanka in Perth by seven wickets to keep their tournament alive.
Chasing a target of 158, Australia struggled early in the innings, losing in-form batsman David Warner early for just 11. But after a run to 158-3 and some huge hitting from Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, and Stoinis, they snatched the game away from Sri Lanka and won it with 21 balls remaining.
Prior to it, Charith Asalanka’s undefeated 38 off 25 balls and Pathum Nissanka’s 40 off 45 helped Sri Lanka reach 157-6.
Aaron Finch, the skipper, had a difficult time finding any kind of rhythm, scoring just 31 runs off of 41 balls despite playing through the innings and scoring the winning runs.
Sri Lanka looked like they were on top after the power play, taking the early wicket of Warner, as Australia stuttured to 33-1 in the power play.
The hosts faced 21 dot deliveries inside the power play, as they failed to take advantage of the fielding restrictions but Sri Lanka lost fast bowler Binura Fernando to injury in the first over and looked short of bowlers because of that.
At the halfway mark, Australia countered, hitting 47 runs between the seventh and 10th overs, with Glenn Maxwell hitting 22 runs off just six balls.
Sri Lanka responded well, conceding three runs from the next two overs after the drinks break, including a short ball bombardment by Lahiru to Maxwell.
With pressure building, Sri Lanka made an important breakthrough. Finch was dropped by Ashen Bandara, but the same fielder took an excellent catch off the next ball as Maxwell looked for a big six.
The match continued to ebb and flow, as Australia searched for an important win. Stoinis came in with Sri Lanka on top but hit three boundaries in a row off the bowling of Wanindu Hasaranga to edge the match into his side’s favor.
He continued to attack Sri Lanka, ending the game with more than three overs to spare. The win also boosted Australia’s net run-rate, which could prove vital for qualification.
