ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Group 1, Perth
Sri Lanka 157-6 (20 overs): Nissanka 40 (45), Asalanka 38* (25)
Australia 158-3 (16.3 overs): Stoins 59* (18)
Australia Won By 7 Wickets.
Marcus Stoins hit the second-fastest half-century in the Men’s T20 World Cup as Australia bounced back from their opening defeat to beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets.
Stonis scored an unbeaten 59 off 18 balls as Australia reached their target with 21 balls to spare in Perth.
Earlier Charith Asalanka scored 40 off 45 balls as Sri Lanka posted 157-6.
The win eased the pressure on holders Australia, who had slipped to the bottom of Group One in the Super 12.
It moves them up to fourth ahead of their crucial meeting with England in Melbourne on Friday (09:00 BST).
Earlier on the same day (05:00) Sri Lanka will face Afghanistan at the same venue.
Stoins completed his half-century in 17 balls, breaking David Warner’s previous record of 18 balls for the fastest half-century by an Australian in T20Is.
India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh holds the record for the fastest fifty in the men’s T20 World Cup, hitting six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad in 12 balls against England in 2007.
Stoinis Power Home of Australia.
Australia went into the match under pressure after their 89-run loss to New Zealand, with little room for error even at this early stage of the tournament.
They not only needed to win but to do so convincingly to improve their poor net run rate, while a second defeat made it extremely difficult for them to qualify for the semi-finals.
The match was in the balance when Stoins strolled into the crease in the 13th over with Australia 97-3 and just eight runs ahead of Sri Lanka’s score at that stage.
But a brutal display of power swept the hosts over the line, his innings hitting four fours and six sixes in just 22 minutes.
Australian captain Aaron Finch said it was a very special innings. “Coming out with that intent is the most important thing, when you come out with that presence it’s one of the key things in T20 cricket and with his power, that makes him very difficult to stop. “
Finch won the toss first and elected to chase a sixth game in a row – despite failing to win any of their previous five.
But after being bowled out for 200 by New Zealand on Saturday, Australia started with more intent, removing the dangerous Koselmendes for five in the second over.
Warner also took a brilliant diving catch at long-off to remove Dhananjaya De Silva just as he wanted to leave Sri Lanka on pace to flag down 75-2 in the 12th over.
Their attempts to increase the scoring rate lead to some hasty decision-making, including a horrendous mix-up between Charith Asalinka and Pathum Nissanka in which Nissanka was run out for four runs.
Sri Lanka were struggling at 120-6 before a spirited rearguard effort from Charith Asalinka and Chamika Karunaratne, which included 31 runs in the last two overs.
Australia made a tentative start to the chase, failing to hit a boundary in the powerplay for the first time in their T20 international history as they limped to 33-1.
But Sri Lanka’s spinners, often their forte, wilted in the middle overs. Venindu Hasringa was subjected to some particularly brutal treatment, ending with figures of 0-53 from three overs.
Glenn Maxwell, who scored 23 off 12, and Mitchell Marsh, who scored 18 off 17, were the main beneficiaries before Stoins’ brilliant hitting saw Australia home.
“We were five out of 10 today,” Sri Lankan captain Dasan Shanaka said. “We started well but in the middle overs we couldn’t get going so we would have lost by about 15 or 20 runs.
“It was difficult with the new ball. It was in the latter part of the game that Australia played really well.”
