Sri Lanka produced an emphatic all-round performance headlined by Pathum Nissanka’s superb unbeaten hundred to outclass Australia by eight wickets in a group league fixture of the T20 World Cup and enter the Super Eight stage of the event here on Monday.
Chasing a target of 182, Nissanka (100 off 52 balls) sent the Australian bowlers on a leatherhunt with an innings that was studded with 10 fours and five sixes. He added 97 for the second wicket with Kusal Mendis (51 off 38 balls) as Sri Lanka completed the chase with two overs to spare.
Earlier, skipper Mitchell Marsh’s 54 and Travis Head’s 56 took Australia to 104 for no loss before being bowled out for 181, largely due to efforts from the Sri Lankan spinners.
Leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha got three for 37 while pacer Dushmantha Chameera also got a couple of wickets. The last four wickets fell for just six runs.
Brief Scores: Australia 181 all out in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 54, Travis Head 56, Dushan Hemantha 3/37) lost to Sri Lanka 184/2 in 18 overs by 8 wickets (Pathum Nissanka 100 not out, Kusal Mendis 51).
England beat Italy to qualify for Super Eight
Italy fought hard until the end but England clinched a 24-run victory to book their berth in the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup from Group C, here on Monday.
Chasing a huge 203, Italy replied with 178 all-out as Ben Manenti top scored with a 25-ball 60 (4x4s, 6x6s), Justin Mosca made a 34-ball 43 and Grant Stewart hit 45 off 23 balls (2x4s, 5x6s).
Earlier, Will Jacks scored a brisk 53 not out late in the innings to power England to 202/7. He hit four sixes and three fours to make 53 not out off only 22 balls.
Phil Salt (28), Jacob Bethell (23), Tom Banton (30) and even skipper Harry Brook were among the other batters to have contributed.
Brief scores: England 202 for 7 in 20 overs (Tom Banton 30, Will Jacks 53 not out; Crishan Kalugamage 2/41) beat Italy 178 in 20 overs (Justin Mosca 43, Ben Manenti 60, Grant Stewart 45; Jamie Overton 3/18, Sam Curran 3/22) by 24 runs.
Afghanistan beat UAE by 5-wicket, sends South Africa to Super Eight
All-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai delivered a match-winning performance, claiming four wickets before smashing an unbeaten 40 to guide Afghanistan to a five-wicket victory over United Arab Emirates in their must-win T20 World Cup clash here on Monday.
The win opened Afghanistan’s account in the tournament and kept their slim Super Eight hopes alive in Group D. It also confirmed South Africa’s place in the next round as they occupy the top spot with six points, followed by New Zealand in second place and Afghanistan in third. UAE slipped to fourth.
Omarzai first returned with figures of 4/15 to help restrict UAE to 160 for 9.
He then played a match-winning cameo of 40 not out after Ibrahim Zadran scored 53 to take Afghanistan to their first win in the ongoing edition.
For UAE, Sohaib Khan scored his second consecutive fifty, smashing 68 off 48 balls while Alishan Sharafu contributed 31-ball 40.
Brief Score:
UAE 160 for 9 in 20 overs (Sohaib Khan 68, Alishan Sharafu 40; Azmatullah Omarzai 4/15).
Afghanistan 162 for 5 in 19.2 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 53; Azmatullah Omarzai 40 not out; Muhammad Arfan 2/30, Junaid Siddique 2/23).