The Aussies inched closer to a 5-0 whitewash at home in the T20I series versus Sri Lanka, securing a comfortable win in the penultimate fixture on February 18 at the MCG. The hosts restricted the visitors to a paltry 139/8, before ensuring victory by six wickets with nearly two overs to spare.
Australia began a bit shakily in their run-chase as the experiment at the top with Ashton Agar didn’t quite bear the desired fruits again. The spin allrounder struggled his way to 26 off 31 balls before being dismissed. The Aussies also lost opener Ben McDermott (9) and skipper Aaron Finch (2) cheaply, which ignited some hope for the Lankan Lions.
But then middle-order duo Glenn Maxwell and Josh Inglis took command of the situation and added 71 runs for the fifth-wicket partnership. Inglis played the aggressor of the two, smashing 40 off 20 deliveries with three fours and two sixes. Maxwell, not left too far behind, did send the ball to the boundary from time to time through his measured 48 not out off 39 balls and took Australia home.
Sri Lankans made a contest out of it thanks largely to their young spinner Mahesh Theekshana (1/20) and speedster Lahiru Kumara (2/22). But they perhaps lost it in the first half itself, where they collapsed from a position of strength at 110/2 to finish below the 140-mark with eight wickets lost.
Opener Pathum Nissanka was their top scorer with 46 off 40 balls in an innings where the next highest individual score was only 27 from Kusal Mendis. The shortage of depth and powerhitting ability hurt Sri Lanka once again in the series as they failed to put enough pressure on a weakened Australian bowling unit.
The hosts rested their premier quicks Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc and yet managed to assert their dominance with the ball. Jhye Richardson (2/20) was the pick of the bowlers, while Agar (1/14) and Adam Zampa (1/26) delivered miserly spells.
Brief scores
Sri Lanka 139/8 in 20 overs (Nissanka 46; Richardson 2/20, Richardson 2/44) lose to Australia 143/4 in 18.1 overs (Maxwell 48*, Inglis 40; Kumara 2/22) by 6 wickets
