Catch the highlights from Australia vs Sri Lanka, Women's T20 World Cup 2024 match, right here
The Australia Vs Sri Lanka, Women's T20 World Cup fixture will get underway at 3:30pm IST, with the toss scheduled for 3pm. The match will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network in India, and will be live-streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app and website in India. (Scorecard|Live Streaming|More Cricket News)
Australia have a 7-0 advantage against Sri Lanka in T20 Internationals. The last time these two sides faced off against each other was at the previous ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, and the Asian side were humbled by ten wickets. Will history repeat itself in Sharjah, or can Sri Lanka pull off a miracle?
Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu called it right at the toss and has opted to bat first in Sharjah. The heat seems to be super heavy, and could the cracks open up after the first innings? Runs on the board always helps in big games, and this one for Sri Lanka is huge.
Australia: Alyssa Healy(w/c), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown
Sri Lanka: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu(c), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani(w), Sachini Nisansala, Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Inoka Ranaweera
Healy: Doesn't matter (what they were going to do if they won the toss). There's a calmness around the group which is amazing. A lot of the girls are in their first World Cup. We've been watching a few other games, but obviously it's a fresh wicket today. Have to adapt quickly. The girls are in good nick. It's actually not too bad out here. We were prepared for the worst case scenario. Breeze is quite nice. Phoebe is coming into the team and is fit and ready to go. Darcie Brown is in the side as well obviously. Spin today is Georgia Wareham, Sophie Molineux and Ash Gardner. We've got ample of pace options. Looking forward to see them do damage first up.
Athapaththu: We're going to bat first. I'm concerned about my batting unit so we decided to bat first. I know the heat is heavy today, hope we can execute the plans. Conditions aren't good for batters but we can't complain. End of the day we have to play positive cricket. One change for us.
Natalie Germanos and Lisa Sthalekar: The fresh pitch for a double header is looking good. The temperature is 36 degrees and a bit the high for today. There is a breeze going across the ground. Straight hit is 73 meters. 57 meters and 63 meters square boundary. The pitch seems to favour spinners as out of the 31 wickets that fell, 22 went to the spinners on the first day. The difference with this pitch is that there's not as much grass covering. The fact that there are bare patches means the ball will skid on and won't turn as much. Still think spin will be key, but maybe not as much.
Australians clad in green-yellow and Sri Lankans in blue have gathered at Sharjah under the sun, as the stadium resonates with the national anthems of both nations. The thrill is just about to begin!
Australia will kick off their campaign today and are coming with confidence following two stunning warm-up victories -- first defeating England by 33 runs and then West Indies by 35 runs, all in pursuit of their seventh title.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka had a disappointing start, suffering a 31-run defeat to Pakistan in their opener on Thursday. However, they performed well in their warm-ups, winning both matches against Bangladesh by 33 runs and Scotland by 5 wickets.
Sri Lanka openers Vishmi Gunaratne and Chamari Athapaththu are at the crease, with Megan Schutt leading the bowling attack for Australia. The match is underway!
The Australia national women's cricket team stands as the most decorated in T20 World Cup history, boasting a remarkable collection of six trophies. Interestingly, out of the eleven teams that have ever attempted to play in this prestigious ICC tournament, only three have claimed the championship: Australia with six titles, England and the West Indies with one.
Australia also hold the title for the most victories in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, with an impressive eight trophies to their name.
One amazing fact coming out of the past winners list is that out of Australia’s six championship victories, Meg Lanning captained the team four times! This makes her a four-time World Cup-winning captain, one of the best records in the history of women's cricket. Read more about the stats HERE.
In 2.6 overs, Schutt delivers to Vishmi Gunaratne and THAT'S OUT!! LBW!
The Aussie women are tightening their fielding; only one run was scored in the first two overs. Just moments later, they clinch the first wicket. Gunaratne goes for the review after being trapped in her crease by a big inswinger on a length ball but its revealed that she gets beaten on the inside edge, crashing into leg stump. Gunaratne’s innings ends after 10 deliveries and a wasted review!
Harshitha Samarawickrama, left handed bat, comes to the crease
SL-W: 6-1 (3.1 overs)
And there go both openers for Sri Lanka, with skipper Chamari Athapaththu falling victim to Gardner's attack, OUT LBW! It was a bit of a confusion as the umpire initially called not out, but Australia immediately opted for the review. Ultra Edge revealed a slight touch on the back leg, confirming a clear gap between bat and ball.
Kavisha Dilhari, the right-handed batter, comes to the crease.
Sri Lanka in trouble now, managing to score just 16 runs in the powerplay while losing two batters.
SLW: 11-2 (5)
Is this a collapse for Sri Lanka? Sophie Molineux strikes in her fourth delivery, trapping Kavisha Dilhari LBW! She went for a review, but it was all in vain. With three batters now departed, Sri Lanka are really struggling to stabilize their innings.
SL-W: 25-3(6.4)
So far in the game, Alyssa Healy's bowlers have restricted the scoring to just two boundaries, courtesy Harshitha Samarawickrama. There have been no roofs or sixes from Chamari’s batters.
Currently, Harshitha has made 20 off 31 balls, while Nilakshi de Silva is on 13 off 19 balls.
SL-W: 55-3(12.4)
Oh no! Harshitha is out! Molineux takes her down with a stunning caught-and-bowled! The left-hand batter Hasini Perera comes to the crease.
With 14 overs gone, Sri Lanka’s score is just 62. Harshitha was the only batter looking to score boundaries, now her dismissal is a major blow. Nilakshi and Perera will need to stabilize this faltering innings.
SLW: 63-4 (14.3)
After Perera departs, Anushka Sanjeewani steps up to the crease, bringing hope to the Lankan fans. She strikes a four off Wareham's deliveries and adds another off Molineux, contributing a solid 14 off 12 balls so far.
SLW: 87-5 (18.4)
And that’s the end of Sri Lanka's innings! Schutt gets Sanjeewani with a brilliant strike in, and then follows up by getting Sugandika Kumari in the last over.
When highlighting the best performance from the bowling side in the first innings, Megan Schutt will stand out with her impressive three wickets.
Nilakshi de Silva’s unbeaten 29 off 40 balls is the highest score for Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka set a target of 94 runs for Australia.
SL-W: 93/7 (20)
It's a good start for Sri Lanka! In the very first over, Prabodhani dismisses Alyssa Healy right after she struck a four. Now at the crease are Beth Mooney and Georgia Wareham.
AUS-W: 12-1 (1.2)
The world’s best all-rounder, Ellyse Perry, is out after smashing three boundaries! Sugandika Kumari claims the prize wicket!
In the first five overs, Prabodhani first dismissed Healy, followed by Wareham, and now Perry has to leave the ground.
Australia have managed to score 35 runs in the powerplay, but they’ve lost three crucial wickets.
Australia now need 53 runs in 80 balls.
AUS-W: 35-3 (6)
No sixes have been hit in the game so far! Australia needs just 27 runs in 55 balls to secure a win in their opener. Beth Mooney seems to have adapted well to the conditions, hammering 27 off 29 balls, including two fours.
Ashleigh Gardner, who replaced Perry, is also performing admirably, hitting a four and scoring 11 off 12 balls.
AUS-W: 70-3 (11.1)
The defending Champions Australia won the match against Sri Lanka in their Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign opener, winning by 6 wickets with 34 balls to spare.
Beth Mooney delivered a blistering performance, remaining unbeaten on 43 off 38 balls, including four fours. She along with Phoebe Litchfield (9 off 9 balls) finshed off the match.
Australia successfully chased down the target of 94 runs, finishing at 94/4 in just 14.2 overs!
Megan Schutt has been named Player of the Match, claiming three wickets by dismissing Vishmi Gunaratne, Anusha Sanjeewani, and Sugandika Kumari. Speaking to the media, she remarked, "There was a bit more bounce in the wicket than I thought there was going to be early on. I've been pushing Midge (captain Healy) for three overs in the powerplay for a long time. So it was nice to do that. "
Now, Sri Lanka will face India on October 9 at the Dubai International Stadium, while title defenders Australia will take on New Zealand on October 8 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.