Tag: australia vs sri lanka

Australia captain Steve Smith admitted on Tuesday that the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 would be on their minds when they play Sri Lanka in two ODIs this week.

The ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on 19 February with host and defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.

Australia are placed in a group with England, South Africa and Afghanistan.

Prior to that Australia will face Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday and Friday, fresh from a dominant 2-0 Test series sweep.

“I’d be lying if I said the Champions Trophy wasn’t at the forefront of our minds — it’s a massive ICC tournament for us,” Steve Smith told reporters in Colombo.

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“While our focus is firmly on finishing this series on a strong note, there is no denying that the Champions Trophy is looming large. We want to make sure we carry good form into that competition.”

Both ODIs will be played as day games, a rarity in modern cricket. The floodlights in Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium are out of action as part of renovations ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted with India.

“Day games are quite different,” Smith said, adding he couldn’t remember his last ODI day match. “But whatever the conditions, it’s going to be warm out there, and we’re looking forward to the challenge”.

Before coming to Sri Lanka, Australia held a training camp in Dubai to prepare for “challenging wickets” in Sri Lanka, said Smith.

“The batters found methods to succeed in these conditions, the spinners worked on varying their pace, and the seamers fine-tuned their reverse swing,” he said. “We hope to bring all that into this series and finish well.”

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Steve Smith stood unbeaten on 104 after crossing 10,000 Test runs and helped Australia pummel Sri Lanka alongside fellow centurion Usman Khawaja on day one of the opening Test on Wednesday.

Australia reached 330-2 in 81.1 overs when rain stopped play for the day after the tourists elected to bat first in Galle at the start of the two-match series.

Left-handed opener Khawaja, on 147, and skipper Smith put on an unbeaten stand of 195 to thwart the opposition attack in two wicketless afternoon sessions.

Milestone man Smith got three runs off Nishan Peiris to reach his third ton in four matches as he took off his baggy green and raised his bat to acknowledge the crowd’s cheers.

Steve Smith took the crease in the first session with 9,999 runs and calmly nudged his very first delivery to mid-on for a single off Prabath Jayasuriya.

He became the 15th batsman to 10,000 Test runs and only the fourth Australian to achieve the feat after Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

Australia captain survived an early reprieve in his knock when Jayasuriya grassed a sharp return catch in the same over, a chance Sri Lanka would come to rue. He made the hosts pay dearly, crafting a sublime 35th Test century.

Usman Khawaja reached his 16th Test hundred -– his maiden ton on Sri Lankan soil -– after a 17-match drought since his Ashes century in June 2023.

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The ton came with a flick off fast bowler Asitha Fernando to the fine leg boundary, a stroke brimming with elegance and relief.

The 38-year-old had a few heart-in-mouth moments when a couple of edges fell just short of fielders and a reprieve on 74 when he nicked Jayasuriya to the keeper, but Sri Lanka chose not to review the on-field decision.

Another opportunity slipped through Sri Lanka’s fingers with Smith on 90 as Kusal Mendis, slow to react behind the stumps, spilled a bat-pad chance.

Earlier, Travis Head smashed 57 off 40 balls including 10 fours and one six to put Sri Lanka on the back foot right away.

Head, who replaced 19-year-old Sam Konstas as an opener for the Test, put on 92 runs with fellow left-hander Khawaja.

The hosts finally found a breakthrough when Head misfired an ambitious charge against Jayasuriya only to find the long-on fielder.

Jeffrey Vandersay had Marnus Labuschagne caught at first slip for 20 with his left-arm spin.

With three specialist spinners in the Australian XI, the tourists hold all the aces, especially with the pitch expected to deteriorate as the game progresses.

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Australia recalled opener Nathan McSweeney and called up all-rounder Cooper Connolly on Thursday for the first time in a spin-heavy Test squad under the captaincy of Steve Smith for the tour of Sri Lanka.

Regular skipper Pat Cummins stays home for the birth of his second child while fellow fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is rested after picking up a calf injury.

Meanwhile, out-of-form all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, who was dropped from the fifth Test against India, remained out of favour for the series.

McSweeney was axed after just three matches for the fourth India Test after failing to justify his inclusion at the top of the order and replaced by fearless 19-year-old Sam Konstas.

Both opening batters are included in the Australia squad for the two Tests against Sri Lanka in Galle beginning on January 29.

Matt Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy have been included to join Test regular Nathan Lyon as specialist spinners.

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Connolly, 21, is in line to make his Test debut, with selectors prizing his ability to bowl left-arm offspin, an asset on Sri Lanka’s turning pitches.

“Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions players may be presented with,” selector George Bailey said. “This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets we may encounter in each match.”

After an impressive debut in the final Test against India in Sydney, all-rounder Beau Webster retains his place over the out-of-favour Marsh, as selectors looked to inject some youth into the touring party.

“We are excited about the opportunity ahead for the squad members who are at the start of their Test careers to continue to grow their games in subcontinent conditions, where we have a number of important tours in coming years,” Bailey said.

Australia have recently defeated India 3-1 in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home.

Australia Test squad for Sri Lanka Tour

Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

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The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed on Friday that they will be hosting Australia for a two-match Test series in late January as part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle of 2023-25.

Australia are ranked second, while Sri Lanka are sitting in third place in the current WTC standings.

The first Test will begin from January 29, while the second is scheduled to start on February 6. Both matches will be played at the Galle International Cricket stadium.

The Australians will also play an ODI on February 13, Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement.

The Australians last visited Sri Lanka in 2022, when they levelled the two-match Test series.

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Notably, Australian captain Pat Cummins might miss the series due to the birth of his second child.

“We’ll see what that looks like closer to the time,” head coach Andrew McDonald said.

“We’ve got a couple of players in Mitch Marsh and Travis Head taking paternity leave at the moment.

“So we respect that if that was to unfold for that particular time and if he wants to miss a Test. If he’s got bigger things to take care of than a Test match in Sri Lanka, then that’s fine with us.”

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SHARJAH: Megan Schutt’s 3/12, followed by Beth Mooney’s unbeaten knock led defending champions Australia to a convincing six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the fifth match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 here at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

Sri Lanka’s captain Chamari Athapaththu’s decision to bat first backfired as her side could only accumulate 93/7 in the allotted 20 overs.

The Asian champions had a disastrous start to their innings as they lost both their openers Vishmi Gunaratne and Athapaththu inside four overs with just six runs on the board.

Following the early debacle, Harshitha Samarawickrama offered some fight with her cautious 23-run knock before falling victim to Sophie Molineux, leaving Sri Lanka in tatters at 56/4 in 13 overs.

Nilakshika Silva then took the reigns of Sri Lanka’s batting expedition but remained devoid of any notable support from the other end.

She remained the top-scorer for Sri Lanka with a 40-ball 29.

Megan Schutt was the standout bowler for Australia, courtesy of her economical bowling figures of 3/12 in her four overs, followed by Molineux with two wickets, while Ashleigh Gardner and Georgia Wareham shared two wickets between them.

In response, Australia had an alike start as they lost three wickets, including their captain Alyssa Healy (4) and experienced all-rounder Ellyse Perry (3), inside the batting powerplay with just 35 runs on the board.

But the defending champions recovered, courtesy of an anchoring partnership between Mooney and Gardner.

The duo added 43 runs for the fourth wicket until Gardner perished with Australia in touching distance to a triumphant start to their Women’s T20 World Cup title defence.

Gardner made 17 off 15 balls with the help of three fours.

Mooney then joined forces with Phoebe Litchfield, nine off nine, to make sure there were no further hiccups in the modest run chase.

The opening batter top-scored for Australia with an unbeaten 43 off 38 deliveries, laced up with four fours.

For Sri Lanka, Sugandika Kumari, Inoka Ranaweera and Udeshika Prabodhani made one scalp each.

The six-wicket victory put defending champions Australia in second spot in Group B standing of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, while Sri Lanka remained fourth.

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LUCKNOW: Adam Zampa’s four-fer, followed by Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis’ half-centuries led Australia to edge Sri Lanka by five wickets in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.

Five-time champions Australia registered their first victory by completing a modest 210-run pursuit in the 36th over for the loss of five wickets.

Australia, however, had a contrasting start to their run-chase as they were two down for just 24 runs in four overs after David Warner (11) and Steve Smith (0) perished in the same over.

Opening batter Mitchell Marsh was then joined by Marnus Labuschagne at the crease and they anchored the run chase with a sensible 57-run partnership.

Marsh, who was dominating the Sri Lankan bowlers, had a disappointing end to his brilliant knock as he was run out in the 15th over.

He scored 52 in 51 balls with the help of nine boundaries.

Labuschagne was then involved in yet another vital partnership for Australia as he put together a 77-run stand with Josh Inglis before falling victim to Dilshan Madushanka in the 29th over.

He remained a notable contributor for Australia with a cautious 40. His 50-ball knock included only two boundaries.

Josh Inglis spearheaded Australia’s run chase after Labuschagne’s departure before returning to the pavilion in the 34th over when his side still needed 18 runs.

He top-scored for Australia with a 59-ball 58 which featured five boundaries and a six.

Glenn Maxwell (31 off 21) and Marcus Stonis’ brisk cameos at the backend, steered Australia to their first victory in the ICC World Cup 2023, which lifted them to eighth in the standings.

Australia after winning the toss, invited Sri Lanka to bat first and struggled early on due to Sri Lankan openers’ onslaught.

Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera scored half-centuries to pile up 125 runs during their opening stand.

Nissanka completed his second consecutive half-century in 58 balls, while, Kusal Perera took a ball less to reach the milestone.

However, Australian captain Pat Cummins broke the stand, courtesy of a brilliant catch by David Warner to dismiss Nissanka.

Nissanka played a 61-run knock off 67 balls, featuring eight boundaries.

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Kusal Perera, then added 24 runs in the 32-run partnership with Kusal Mendis, until Pat Cummins castled him at a total of 157.

Perera top-scored with 78 off 82, with the help of 12 boundaries.

Sri Lankan batters could not recover from this and kept losing wickets at an alarming rate, courtesy of a brilliant bowling display by Australia.

Charith Asalanka fought a lone battle while losing partners on the other end as none of the last nine batters could reach double figures except him.

He scored 25 runs off 35 balls before being caught by Labuschagne off Maxwell to end the Sri Lankan innings at 209 in the 44th over.

Adam Zampa led the bowling attack, while Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc managed two wickets each.

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GQEBERHA: Megan Schutt-led Australian bowling attack restricted Sri Lanka to 112/8 before their openers Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney led the side to a dominating 10-wicket victory in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Put into bat first, the Sri Lankan batting lineup failed completely and could only raise 112/8 in their allotted 20 overs despite Harshitha Samarawickrama’s 34.

Samarawickrama partnered strongly with skipper Chamari Athapaththu (16) to script a solid start for her side before the latter failed to stretch her knock and perished in the sixth over.

Vishmi Gunaratne then joined Samarawickrama in the middle and added 39 runs for the second-wicket partnership but remained a touch too slow as they conceded 51 deliveries in the process.

Grace Harris, who returned with 2/7 in three overs finally removed Samarawickrama in the 14th over. She remained the top-scorer for her side with 34 off 40 deliveries, laced with three boundaries.

Following her dismissal, Sri Lanka ran into a frustrating collapse and kept losing wickets till the final over with Australia consequently halting them to 112/8.

Schutt led the bowling carnage for Australia with 4/24 in her four overs while Ellyse Perry and Georgia Wareham struck out a batter apiece.

Set to chase 113, Australia comfortably chased down the total in the 16th over as both their openers Healy and Mooney scored unbeaten half-centuries.

Healy remained the core aggressor of the match-winning stand as she struck a quick 54 off 43 deliveries, while Mooney remained unbeaten with a cautious 53-ball 56.

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PERTH: Marcus Stoinis hit the fastest T20I fifty for Australia in just 17 balls as the defending champions crushed Sri Lanka by 7 wickets with 21 balls to spare on Tuesday to keep their T20 World Cup hopes alive after the opening defeat. 

Stoinis blasted a stunning 58 not-out off 18, smashing half-a-dozen gigantic sixes and two fours to take Australia home after they lost three wickets on 89 while chasing a respectable 158-run target.

The right-hander’s 22-minute stay on the crease took a heavy toll on Sri Lankan reliable spinning duo Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, who were thrashed for 19 and 20 runs, respectively.

Skipper Aaron Finch, on the other hand, played a sluggish knock of unbeaten 31 off 42 balls while Glenn Maxwell played a scintillating cameo of 12-ball 23 laced with two fours and two sixes before Stoinis stole the show.

Earlier, a combined effort by Sri Lanka batters against the furious pace attack helped the side to raise 157/6 in the allotted 20 overs after they were put to bat.

Charith Asalanka played a glittering knock of 38 off 25 laced with three fours and two sixes after opener Pathum Nissanka and No 3 batter Dhanajaya de Silva anchored the innings with a valiant 69-run partnership for the second wicket.

Sri Lanka went through a dismal start as opener Kusal Mendis was effectively removed by Patt Cummins in the second over. Silva (26 off 23) then joined Nissanka on the crease to move the scoreboard to 75/1 in 11.2 over before falling prey to Ashton Agar who had replaced Adam Zampa in Australia’s playing XI.

Nissanka played a very cautious knock of 45-ball 40 with only two fours to his credit before a confusion between the wickets between him and Asalanka forced him back to the pavilion in the 14th over.

Following his dismal, the next three wickets fell in quick succession as lower-order batters Bhanuka Rajapaksa (7), skipper Dasun Shanaka (3) and Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (1) failed to impress.

No 7 batter Chamika Karunaratne, however, hit a couple of boundaries as he made a quick 14 off 7 to help Sri Lanka something to cheer at the end of the innings. 

For Australia, Cummins, Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell took a wicket each.

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GALLE: Sri Lanka’s middle-order batter Dinesh Chandimal scored a magnificent century after the valiant fifties from Kamindu Mendis and Angelo Mathews to put the home side ahead of Australia on the third day of the ongoing second Test.

Following the batting masterclass from Chandimal, the hosts finished at 431/6, 67 runs ahead of Australia’s first innings total of 364.

Resuming at an overnight score of 184/2, the hosts found themselves in the driving seat after the conclusion of the third day despite an unwanted start as the side lost their overnight top-scorer Kusal Mendis.

Mendis could only manage to add one run to his overnight score as he walked back to the pavilion in the third over of the day after scoring 85. He faced 161 deliveries and smashed nine boundaries.

Following his departure, Mathews and Chandimal carried the proceedings for the team and put them into a commanding position with an astonishing 83-run partnership for the third wicket.

The veteran all-rounder Mathews, who played a valiant fifty-plus knock for his team, could not go big as Aussie left-arm pacer Mitchel Starc removed him for 52. The right-handed batter faced 117 deliveries in the course of his gritty knock and smashed four boundaries.

Following his departure, Kamindu stood up for his team and put on another key partnership for Sri Lanka. The duo added 133 runs for the fifth wicket before Mitchel Swepson claimed his second wicket by casting the left-handed batter for a magnificent 61 off 137 balls, laced with seven boundaries.

Wicketkeeper batter Niroshan Dickwella, on the other hand, could not capitalize on the solid foundation as he could only manage to score five runs in the course of his brief knock.

Sri Lanka’s top-scorer Chandimal then put on a handy 22-run partnership with Ramesh Mendis till the conclusion of the third day. Their valiant stand bolstered Sri Lanka to finish at 431/6.

Chandimal remained unbeaten with his terrific 118 off 232 deliveries with the help of 10 boundaries including a six, while Ramesh scored seven not-out. The duo will now resume the proceedings for Sri Lanka on the fourth day of the second Test.

For Australia, Nathan Lyon, Starc, and Swepson bagged two wickets each.

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