It isn’t usually you see an Australian crew stroll across the discipline with drooping shoulders. The response was logical in view of what transpired on the Pallekele Worldwide Cricket Stadium on Monday. Egged on by the vociferous residence assist, Sri Lanka trumped the Aussies by eight wickets to push it to the brink of elimination from T20 World Cup 2026.
Pathum Nissanka (100 n.o., 52b, 10×4, 5×6) and Kusal Mendis (51, 38b, 6×4, 1×6) selected precision over energy to place up a 97-run second-wicket affiliation, which helped the house aspect chase down the 182-run goal with 12 balls to spare.
Pavan Rathnayake ensured Mendis’ wicket didn’t set off a collapse mirroring the primary innings, enjoying the proper foil to Nissanka’s batting masterclass on the different finish towards a crestfallen bowling assault. This allowed the opener to race away to his second T20I hundred, thus guiding his aspect by means of to the Tremendous Eight stage.
Earlier, Steve Smith’s addition to the squad as Josh Hazlewood’s alternative prompted ideas that Mitchell Marsh was not able to take part. Nevertheless it was the captain (54, 27b, 8×4, 2×6) who strode out alongside Travis Head (56, 29b, 7×4, 3×6) to offer the aspect the blistering begin that it had been eager for this event.
The Australian openers punished the opponent’s incapability to stay to a nagging line, racing to a 104-run opening partnership inside 9 overs. The tables turned as soon as each openers fell after their fast half-centuries to Dushan Hemantha (three for 37).
The remainder of the batting order, barring a quick partnership between Glenn Maxwell and Josh Inglis, regarded to inflate the scoring price with out accounting for the activate supply for the tweakers, leading to a flurry of wickets. With simply 71 runs to point out in its remaining ten overs, it’s clear the place Australia misplaced the plot.
Printed on Feb 16, 2026