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Updated October 16, 2023

ICC Men's ODI World Cup: Australia Made their Mark!

TL;DR

After losing two consecutive matches in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup, mightly Australia have made their mark today.

ICC Men's ODI World Cup: Australia Made their Mark!

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After losing two consecutive matches in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup, mightly Australia have made their mark today. Today's game against Sri Lanka was a do-or-die for Australia, and they did an excellent job. The Aussies have defeated the Lankans by five wickets and kept their hope alive in the World Cup. Toss: Kusal Mendis, the captain of Sri Lanka, won the toss and opted to bat first.

Sri Lanka had a flying start

Winning the toss, Sri Lanka started their batting innings with Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka. They two were on fire against the Aussie bowlers. From the very beginning, these two openers were very aggressive and started hitting boundaries. As a result, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera got a half-century for each. Initially, it seemed Sri Lanka would post a massive target against Australia as they maintained their run rate up to 6. But skipper Pat Cummins broke their partnership by taking the wicket of Pathum Nissanka, who scored 61 off 67 balls.

Sri Lanka suffered a serious collapse!

After having a great start, Sri Lanka had a nightmare after the departure of their two openers. Following Pathum Nissanka's wicket, Pat Cummins also bowled out Kusal Perera in the 26th over. Kusal Perera scored the highest 78 runs from 82 balls. After that, the disaster started for Sri Lanka. They kept losing wickets in almost every over. Spinner Adam Zampa got four wickets alone to destroy the Lankan batting lineup. From 157/2 to 209/10, Sri Lanka lost eight wickets in 52 runs! Therefore, Australia needed to score 210 runs to win this game.

Warner and Smith Failed Again!

The poor form of David Warner and Steven Smith continues in this World Cup. They also failed to contribute much to the team as Warner lost his wicket with 11 runs, while Smith had gone duck. But opener Mitchel Marsh strongly handled the situation with Marnus Labuschagne. They made a partnership of 57 runs, which was a basement for Australia. However, Marsh returned to the pavilion after being run out. He scored a much-needed 52 runs before leaving the crease. Meanwhile, Labuschagne made another partnership with Josh Inglis. Labuschagne added 40 runs and Inglis scored 58 off 59 before losing their wickets. But Glenn Maxwell remained not out with his devastating 31 runs from 21 balls. Relying on their bats, Australia chased the target within 36 overs and registered their first victory in this World Cup.

Pat Cummins on Winning

Aussie captain Pat Cummins, who picked up two important wickets, is very pleased with the victory. "Nothing said much on the back of two losses. The energy on the field was great. They started very well. We bowled decently. We stayed at it. The bowlers hit the deck hard. I think high 300 was par on that. There is a lot of people watching this. Outside noise doesn't bother us a lot. All parts of the game came together today. We would want to keep it up," said the skipper.

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