It took an apocalyptic dust storm and a freak bout of rain for Australia to get its World Cup campaign back on track with a five-wicket win against Sri Lanka at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Monday.

While it wasn’t exactly the statement win the Aussies were looking for after two successive defeats, the return of Mitchell Marsh (52, 51b, 9×4) to his characteristic best and Adam Zampa (four for 47) to his wicket-taking form were positives they would settle for.

Maxwell also found his mojo with an unbeaten 21-ball 31 as Australia rushed to the target in 35.2 overs.

After David Warner and Steve Smith were trapped by Dilshan Madushanka in the same over, Marsh and Labuschagne steadied the ship with a 57-run stand. Marsh was aggressive against pace and spin as Australia ransacked 64 runs in the first PowerPlay — 45 of them coming off the opener’s blade.

While Labuschagne picked the gaps and rotated the strike, Josh Inglis (58, 59b, 5×4, 1×6) took on the role of the aggressor after Marsh was run out. The wicketkeeper-batter punished the short stuff on his way to a 46-ball half-century. Both Labuschagne and Inglis couldn’t take Australia home but their knocks were enough to close the door on Sri Lanka.

Earlier, after being asked to bowl, Australia’s desperation was in plain sight as Mitchell Starc frittered away a review off the first ball and issued a stern warning in the same over to Kusal Perera for backing up too far. Barring Labuschagne’s spilt catch to reprieve Pathum Nissanka on 43, those two instances were as close as Australia came to picking a wicket in the first 21 overs.

Nissanka and Perera had blunted the pace trio of Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins during a 125-run opening stand before Warner’s brilliance in the field gave Australia its first success as Nissanka miscued a short ball from Cummins.

After Nissanka fell, Perera showcased his ability to read lengths quickly by pulling Hazlewood behind square-leg and then in front of it for consecutive fours. Cummins had his second scalp when he hit the perfect length and moved the ball into Perera.

Captain Kusal Mendis was the second victim of Warner’s acrobatics, prompting the day’s loudest cheer from a sparse crowd. Zampa, who had been flayed for 22 runs in his first three overs, redeemed himself with that dismissal.

The leg-spinner hastened the collapse with three more wickets, trapping right-handers in front with his googlies. Sri Lanka lost nine wickets for 52 runs and its capitulation almost matched the drama of an aberrant 30-minute spell of rain and winds that picked apart the tournament branding at the venue.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA: Pathum Nissanka c Warner b Cummins 61 (67b, 8×4), Kusal Perera b Cummins 78 (82b, 12×4), Kusal Mendis c Warner b Zampa 9 (13b), Sadeera Samarawickrama lbw b Zampa 8 (8b, 1×4), Charith Asalanka c Labuschagne b Maxwell 25 (39b, 1×6), Dhananjaya de Silva b Starc 7 (13b, 1×4), Dunith Wellalage run out 2 (9b), Chamika Karunaratne lbw b Zampa 2 (11b), Maheesh Theekshana lbw b Zampa 0 (5b), Lahiru Kumara b Starc 4 (8b, 1×4), Dilshan Madushanka (not out) 0 (6b); Extras (b-2, lb-2, w-9): 13; Total (in 43.3 overs): 209.

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-125 (Nissanka, 21.4 overs), 2-157 (Perera, 26.2), 3-165 (Mendis, 27.6), 4-166 (Samarawickrama, 29.1), 5-178 (Dhananjaya, 32.3), 6-184 (Wellalage, 34.5), 7-196 (Karunaratne, 37.6), 8-199 (Theekshana, 39.2), 9-204 (Kumara, 40.5).

AUSTRALIA BOWLING: Starc 10-0-43-2, Hazlewood 7-1-36-0, Cummins 7-0-32-2, Maxwell 9.3-0-36-1, Zampa 8-1-47-4, Stoinis 2-0-11-0.

AUSTRALIA: Mitchell Marsh run out 52 (51b, 9×4), David Warner lbw b Madushanka 11 (6b, 1×6), Steve Smith lbw b Madushanka 0 (5b), Marnus Labuschagne c Karunaratne b Madushanka 40 (60b, 2×4), Josh Inglis c Theekshana b Wellalage 58 (59b, 5×4, 1×6), Glenn Maxwell (not out) 31 (21b, 4×4, 2×6), Marcus Stoinis (not out) 20 (10b, 2×4, 1×6); Extras (w-3): 3; Total (for five wkts. in 35.2 overs): 215.

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-24 (Warner, 3.1), 2-24 (Smith, 3.6), 3-81 (Marsh, 14.3), 4-158 (Labuschagne, 28.5), 5-192 (Inglis, 33.1).

SRI LANKA BOWLING: Kumara 4-0-47-0, Madushanka 9-2-38-3, Theekshana 7-0-49-0, Wellalage 9.2-0-53-1, Karunaratne 3-0-15-0, Dhananjaya 3-0-13-0.

Toss: Sri Lanka; PoM: Zampa.

Australia won by five wickets with 14.4 overs to spare.

First look: Karunaratne will look to impress on his first outing this WC, having replaced Shanaka.
| Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA

 Australia, a pre-tournament favourite, and Sri Lanka, which often punches above its weight, will be desperate to open their World Cup 2023 account at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Monday.

Both sides are coming off two successive defeats, one against South Africa each, and find themselves on the wrong side of history.

While Sri Lanka conceded the highest total against the Proteas in its opener, it saw Pakistan pull off the highest successful chase in the tournament’s history in the following game. Australia, meanwhile, faced its heaviest World Cup defeat against South Africa in its previous match here and has kick-started a World Cup campaign with two losses for the first time since 1992.

The troubles don’t seem to end for the Lankans as their skipper Dasun Shanaka has been ruled out indefinitely due to a right thigh muscle injury with Kusal Mendis, in red-hot form, taking over from him.

The Australians have witnessed their middle-order collapse against India and South Africa and are yet to breach the 200-run mark, while the Lankan bowlers are smarting a battering of over 770 runs in just under 100 overs across two games.

In the middle-overs with the ball, both teams have lacked penetration and allowed the opposition to wrest the initiative after being economical in the first PowerPlay.

Crucial phase

With conditions likely to assist swing and seam movement while the ball is new, a lot will hinge on how the first 10 overs pan out.

Sri Lanka’s batting, shepherded by Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, has variety but will have its task cut out against the trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, who have shone in patches.

Australia, on the other hand, will quickly need to give role clarity to its pantheon of all-rounders, which is yet to deliver, and will bank on Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to build on their starts and counter Sri Lanka’s spin pack, led by Maheesh Theekshana.