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Australia registered a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Match 14 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday, October 16. This win marked the first victory for the team led by Pat Cummins in the ongoing ICC event.
Notably, Australia suffered defeat against India in their first game and lost to South Africa by a whopping margin of 134 runs in their second encounter.
Sri Lanka’s innings
Sri Lanka got off to an exceptional start as their openers, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera, forged a formidable partnership of 125 runs for the first wicket. However, apart from these two, no other batter ignited any spark as the Islanders’ batting order crumbled in front of the formidable Australian bowling attack. Eventually, they were bundled out for a total of 209 runs.
Australia’s innings
In pursuit of the 210-run target, Australia encountered a nightmarish beginning, as the left-arm pacer, Dilshan Madushanka, brilliantly dismissed both David Warner and Steve Smith in a sensational double-wicket maiden over. However, opener Mitchell Marsh came to the rescue, establishing a solid 57-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne, who contributed 40 runs, and subsequently forming another impressive 77-run partnership with Josh Inglis, who added 58 runs to the scoreboard. Marsh’s pivotal innings was cut short at 52.
Subsequently, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis provided some explosive moments with quickfire knocks of 31 and 20, respectively, steering their team to a well-earned victory.
Australian captain Pat Cummins shared insights on his team’s recent win and discussed their approach for the remainder of the tournament.
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The group has got high standards: Pat Cummins
Cummins expressed his satisfaction with the victory, acknowledging this team’s high standards and determination following two previous losses. The right-arm seamer remained modest when asked about the par score for the pitch and credited the bowlers for their excellent performance. He also mentioned that external opinions and noise didn’t bother his team and highlighted the comprehensive effort that led to their success, with a commitment to maintaining their momentum.
“Yeah, happy today. Probably nothing was said. It was on the back of two losses. The group has got high standards. Everyone was up for it, and they did well on the field. Not really, we didn’t start well. But we bowled well. At 130 off for 1, Sri Lanka was going well. But we stayed in it and scratched our way back into the game. I am not the right bloke to ask for that . The bowlers did well and hit the deck hard. Maybe 300 would have been a par total. There are a lot of people watching it. They speak, and the outside noise is not a matter of concern for us. Most of the parts of the game came together for us. We will try to keep it up and continue,” Cummins said in the post-match ceremony.
