Josh Hazlewood’s heroic spell helped Australia defeat Sri Lanka by 20 runs via the DLS method in a rain-curtailed match in the first T20I of the five-match series, here at Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
Australia scored 149/9, but the target got reduced to 143 to be chased in 19 overs. Hazlewood scalped four wickets while Adam Zampa went away with three, to give their side a 20-run victory. Chasing 150, Sri Lanka got an early blow as the opener Danushka Gunathilaka was dismissed on just one run by Josh Hazlewood, leaving the score at 3/1. Avishka Fernando then joined opener Pathum Nissanka but couldn’t stand for long, as he was sent back to the dug out by Pat Cummins.
Later, Charith Asalanka and Nissanka tried to anchor the innings and kept the scoreboard moving for Lankans. But, their happiness was short-lived as Zampa scalped two wickets back to back and sent both the batters back, with the team’s total at 64/4 in the 11th over.
Wanindu Hasaranga was the third batter who fell prey to Zampa’s spell, after getting dismissed for just 13 runs. It was then, the rain stopped the play, and the target was revised to 143 to be chased in 19 overs. Coming back from the break, Australia snatched the game completely into their favor when Hazlewood took three wickets and sent Dasun Shanaka, Chamika Karunaratne, and Dushmantha Chameera back to the dug out, to restrict the visitors 122/8 and register a victory by 20 runs.
Earlier, Australia also struggled with the bat as Ben McDermott was the only batter to play a decent inning of 53 runs. Apart from him, only Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis scored in double digits.
For Sri Lanka, Hasaranga scalped three wickets while Chameera, Binura Fernando, and Karunaratne returned with two wickets each. Both the teams will now be clashing for the 2nd T20I on Sunday, at the Sydney Cricket Ground.Brief Scores: Australia 149/9 (Ben McDermott 53, Marcus Stoinis 30; Hasaranga 3-38) vs Sri Lanka 122/8 (Pathum Nissanka 36, Dinesh Chandimal 25; Josh Hazlewood 4-12)