Megan Schutt and Beth Mooney has propelled the Australia team to a winning start
Sri Lanka scored 93/7 in 20 overs, where as Australia scored 94/4 in 14.2 overs.
So, finally Australia beat Sri Lanka by six wickets.
In a matchup between the World Champions and the Asian Champions, Megan Schutt spearheaded a formidable bowling display, while Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 43 propelled Australia to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Sharjah.
Schutt’s outstanding figures of 3 for 12 restricted Sri Lanka to a mere 93 runs in their 20 overs, a target that Australia successfully chased down with six wickets in hand and 34 balls remaining.
The loss marked Sri Lanka’s second defeat in two matches, leaving them in a precarious position in Group A standings.
At the toss, Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu expressed concerns about her batting lineup, and her worries were validated after the first innings.
Sri Lanka struggled to score, managing no runs in the opening two overs, and opener Vishmi Gunaratne was dismissed for a 10-ball duck, trapped lbw by one of Schutt’s powerful inswingers.
Sri Lanka’s hopes for a competitive total hinged on their captain, but for the second consecutive match, Athapaththu failed to elevate her team from a difficult position.
She attempted a sweep against Ash Gardner but missed, leading Australia to successfully seek a review that confirmed the appeal.
Sri Lanka’s total of 23 runs during the Power Play came largely due to Darcie Brown’s issues with no-balls in the sixth over, where she foot-faulted three times, in addition to conceding a wide and a boundary.
Brown bowled just that single over and later dropped an easy catch to let Harshitha Madavi escape.
Despite some minor errors, Australia’s bowling remained precise, yielding only four boundaries throughout the innings.
Madavi contributed two of those before being dismissed in the 13th over for 23 runs off 35 balls, caught by Sophie Molineux (2 for 20).
Nilakshi de Silva fought hard, scoring an unbeaten 29 off 40 balls without hitting a single boundary, while keeper-batter Anushka Sanjeewani added some excitement at the end with two boundaries in her 15-ball 16.
However, she was dismissed in the final over by Schutt, who followed up by taking out Sugandika Kumari on the very next ball, finishing with remarkable figures of 4-1-12-3 as Sri Lanka collapsed to under 100.
They would lament their inability to secure at least 20 more runs, which, while not guaranteed to change the outcome, could have applied additional pressure on Australia, who slipped to 35 for 3 in the stifling Sharjah heat.
Captain Alyssa Healy was dismissed by a superb delivery from Udeshika Prabodhani that angled away, striking the top of off-stump.
Kavisha Dilhari then executed a brilliant pick-up and throw to run out Georgia Wareham.
This brought Ellyse Perry to the crease, who started briskly with three boundaries in her first ten balls.
However, she fell victim to Sugandika Kumari, who skillfully bowled a fuller delivery to dislodge the stumps after following up a shorter ball.
Any concerns about a potential collapse were quickly dispelled as Mooney and Ash Gardner added 27 runs in four overs, guiding Australia to 62 for 3 at the halfway mark.
Mooney battled against the heat, and a near-dismissal off Inoka Ranaweera went unpunished when a chance was dropped.
Together, Mooney and Gardner built a solid partnership, scoring 43 runs that effectively sealed the match.
Gardner departed for 12, but Mooney remained unbeaten, steering her team to victory.
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