Australia plays their warm-up match 7 against Sri Lanka and wins
Australia won by five wickets in their warm-up match 7 against Sri Lanka at Southampton. Sri Lanka had a different opening combination with left-handed batsmen Lahiru Thirimanne and team captain Dimuth Karunaratne. The duo survived the first ten overs without losing a wicket. However, the team began losing their wickets when Karunaratne was dismissed on the second to last delivery of the powerplay.
They only registered 239 runs, losing eight wickets in their quota of overs. Thirimanne’s 56 and all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva’s 43 runs were the only positive results that the Islanders achieved from these innings.
On the other hand, Australian Batsman Usman Khawaja showed brilliance when he bagged the opening slot while skipper Aaron Finch has yet to find a good score in their matches in England.
Khawaja was at his best with the new ball but he only kept picking twos and threes to ensure the scoreboard kept ticking. He added 80 runs in the second wicket with batsman Shaun Marsh without allowing Sri Lanka to score.
Right-handed batsman Steve Smith decided not to bat as wicketkeeper Alex Carey and bowler Pat Cummins finished the game for the team. Carey smashed Sri Lankan bowler Jeffrey Vandersay over mid-off for a boundary in 45th over to seal Australia’s victory.
After this warm-up match, Australia can rest until the weekend before they begin their World Cup campaign on June 1. They will play against Afghanistan at Bristol County Ground.
