Australia need 210 after fightback against Sri Lanka

Jasper Bruce | October 17, 2023

Australia need 210 runs to salvage their World Cup campaign after Adam Zampa and Pat Cummins masterminded a fightback in the crucial clash against Sri Lanka in Lucknow.

Australia lost the toss and remained on the back foot as openers Kusal Perera (78) and Pathum Nissanka (61) pitched in a 125-run opening stand for the equally-desperate Sri Lankans.

But just when Monday’s game and the World Cup dream threatened to slip out of Australia’s reach, Cummins (2-32) took the breakthrough wicket of Nissanka.

Backed by David Warner’s fielding he and Zampa (4-47) inspired a collapse of 9-52, including a particularly strong period of 3-9, that ensured the Sri Lankans were all out for 209 in the 44th over.

Zampa had been out of form and under pressure as Australia’s only front-line spinner at the tournament but finished the day with his best figures in an ODI World Cup match.

Other than Sri Lanka’s opening pair, only Charith Asalanka (25) reached double figures.

The bowling performance leaves Australia’s World Cup destiny in their own hands for the time being.

A third loss from as many games would not necessarily rule Australia out of contention for the final four.

But it would likely leave them needing to win all six of their remaining games in the group stage to progress.

Sri Lanka lost their own first two matches of the tournament so are in a similar predicament.

After Mitchell Starc (2-43) wasted a review with a poor lbw shout on the first ball, Cummins was gun-shy when Glenn Maxwell wanted to risk the last one in the ninth over.

The call proved costly; ball-tracker showed Maxwell’s delivery hitting leg stump and dismissing Perera on 24. Instead, the opening partnership stretched into the 22nd over and left the Australians flustered.

Cummins made it up to his teammates when Nissanka hit him to Warner at deep mid-wicket who took a good catch for the breakthrough wicket.

Australia were well and truly back in the game when the captain, criticised for his slow start to the tournament, sent Perera packing with a length ball that careered into off-stump for 2-157.

Cummins punished Dunith Wellalage in the 35th over for attempting to sneak a single in, running him out with a direct hit from mid off that consigned Sri Lanka to 6-184.

Zampa looked in for another tough day after being hit for two fours from his first three balls.

But the leg-spinner finally hit his stride against his favourite opponents, dispatching Sri Lanka’s two most in-form batters Kusal Mendis (9) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (8), in the space of two balls.

Warner was superb in the field, taking a large chunk out of the Lucknow outfield as he dived to dismiss Mendis at deep mid-wicket, before Sri Lanka disputed Zampa’s lbw shout on Samarawickrama in vain.