International

Nissanka’s first century of ICC T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka in Super 8, Australia’s departure almost certain

By Samira Vishwas

Kandy, 16 February. Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka (100 not out, 52 balls, five sixes, 10 fours) wrote his name on the first century of the ICC T20 World Cup cricket tournament at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Monday night and with the help of his mighty innings, the joint hosts defeated Australia by eight wickets with two overs to spare and secured the Super 8 ticket from Group B.

Kangaroo reached 182 runs with the fifties of Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head.

Australia, forced to bat first, scored a strong score of 182 runs in 20 overs despite the faltering of other batsmen after the quick half-centuries of returning captain Mitchell Marsh (54 runs, 27 balls, two sixes, eight fours) and Travis Head (56 runs, 29 balls, three sixes, seven fours), who seemed to be returning to form.

Sri Lanka achieved the target with two valuable partnerships from Nissanka

In response, ‘Player of the Match’ Nissanka not only scored his second T20 International century but also made an unbroken partnership of 79 runs off 34 balls for the third wicket with Kusal Mendis (51 runs, 38 balls, one six, six fours) along with Kusal Mendis (51 runs, 38 balls, one six, six fours) and Pawan Ratnayake (28 runs not out, 15 balls, six fours) for the third wicket, giving Sri Lanka an easy victory, which gave Sri Lanka an easy victory by 18 runs. Scored 184 runs after losing two wickets in the overs.

Australia also had to defeat Zimbabwe

While Sri Lanka has maintained its top position in the five-team group with a maximum of six points after its third consecutive win, Australia’s departure is almost certain after its second consecutive defeat. After a win over Ireland in their first match, the Kangaroos suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe. The current situation is that Zimbabwe is in second place with four points from two matches while Australia is in third place with two points from three matches.

Zimbabwe needs just one win to enter Super 8

Overall, now only by some miracle Australia will be able to reach the Super 8 because apart from Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe still has to play Ireland and a win will get them a ticket to the Super 8. At the same time, Australia will not only have to defeat Oman by a big margin but will also have to hope that Zimbabwe loses both its remaining matches by a big margin.

Marsh and Head scored 104 runs in 51 balls

If we look at the Australian innings, Marsh, who could not play the first two matches of the tournament due to injury, adopted an aggressive style as soon as he returned and hit a stormy fifty. The head also appeared to be of the same colour. Together, their explosive partnership of 104 runs in 51 balls put Australia on the way to a score of more than 200.

All 10 wickets fell in the last 70 balls at a gain of 77 runs.

But due to some excellent fielding and spin bowling, Sri Lanka took all 10 wickets in the last 70 balls for a lead of 77 runs. Leg spinner Dushan Hemantha (3-37) was the most successful bowler. Australia lost the last four wickets in just six runs.

score card

Chasing the target, Sri Lanka suffered a setback in the second over when Kusal Perera (one run) was dismissed by Marcus Stoinis (2-48). But after this Nissanka and Mendis took command. When the team needed 89 runs in 10 overs, Stoinis dismissed Mendis. But the Australian bowlers looked helpless in front of Nissanka and he gave the team an easy victory with his second T20 International century of his career and an unbroken partnership with Ratnayake.

England completes Super 8 lineup in Group C

Earlier in the day, England completed the Super 8 lineup in Group C after beating Italy by 24 runs. West Indies has already reached Super 8 from this group. Both teams have six points each. Although England has played all its four matches. Whereas the top-ranked Windies are yet to play one match.

score card

At Eden Gardens, Kolkata, England scored 202 runs for seven wickets with the help of ‘Player of the Match’ Will Jacques (53 not out, 22 balls, four sixes, three fours). In reply, the Italian team bravely faced the English bowling and reached 178 runs after losing all the wickets in 20 overs.

Afghanistan recorded its first victory

On the other hand, in Group D, Afghanistan registered its first win by defeating UAE by five wickets with the help of Azmatullah Omarzai’s all-round performance (40 not out, four wickets for 15 runs). In this match played in Delhi, UAE scored 160 runs for nine wickets. In reply, Afghanistan opened their account by scoring 162 runs for five wickets in 19.2 overs.

The Afghan team had to face defeat in the first two matches against New Zealand and South Africa respectively. In the group, South Africa has already reached the Super 8 with full six points from three matches. New Zealand is in second place with four points. Both New Zealand and Afghanistan have to play Canada in their last match. In such a situation, there is little hope that the Afghan team will be able to defeat New Zealand.

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