CHENNAI: And just like that, Australia are on the brink of elimination. After going down to Zimbabwe a few days earlier, the 2021 World Cup champions needed a positive result against Sri Lanka in Kandy on Monday.
Sri Lanka, in turn, knew a win would guarantee them a place in the Super Eights stage of the competition. And they produced a win for the ages as they gunned down 182 in front of a raucous crowd who lived every ball of the run chase. The man primarily responsible for the thrilling, fever dream of a night was Pathum Nissanka, the next in a long line of batting royalty from the island. He had long been identified as the man who would carry forward a legacy bequeathed to him by the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Aravinda de Silva, Kumar Sanagakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya, the coach whose smile grew wider every passing minute of his team's run-chase. It was at its widest when they got over the line to advance to the next phase of the tournament where they will retain home advantage.
What made it all the more special was that the hosts were reduced to 10 very early in the piece as Matheesha Pathirana did some damage to his hamstring in his first over, the third over of the first innings. In his follow up, his hand immediately went down to feel his left hamstring. A few minutes later, he was helped off by the field by his colleagues. They had already suffered an injury blow in the form of Wanindu Hasaranga, who had pulled up in the last game.
But they have oodles of belief and they will be a handful in conditions like these.
Australia, asked to bat first, welcomed back captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head. The duo combined for a violent opening wicket stand of 104 in just 8.3 overs. But once Head fell, the rest of the batting collapsed as the back end of their innings finished with a whimper. A target of 182 may have been a challenge but Nissanka, who can lay claim to be one of the best openers across formats over the last year, found a great time to find some form.
His last five T20I scores were 23, 34, 23, 24 and 13. On Monday, his 'I'm him' performance left Australia gasping for air. The way he broke the chase in the middle-phase of the innings caught the opposition off-guard.
As long as Zimbabwe beat Ireland in Kandy in Wednesday's match — or manage to win one of their last two matches — Australia will be out of the World Cup.
