Sri Lanka defeats Australia by 49 runs, with captain Charith Asalanka scoring 127 runs and bowler Maheesh Theekshana taking four wickets.
A week prior to the 50-over extravaganza, Australia’s 2023 ODI World Cup winners were dealt a huge blow when they fell to Sri Lanka by 49 runs in the first ODI on Wednesday, leaving their Champions Trophy lineup in disarray due to the unavailability of many big guns.
Captain Charith Asalanka’s 127 runs helped Sri Lanka to 214 when they batted first, but only three other batters reached double figures. With openers Pathum Nissanka and Avishka Fernando scoring just four and one runs, respectively, the remaining seven were only able to generate single-digit scores. With three wickets, Sean Abbott was the standout bowler for Australia.Australia’s wicketkeeper Alex Carey led the chase with 41 runs, followed by Aaron Hardie with 31. Big names like Matthew Short (0), Jake Fraser-McGurk (2), Cooper Connolly (3), captain Steve Smith (12), and Marnus Labuschagne (15) were all unable to make an impression. With four wickets taken, Maheesh Theekshana was Sri Lanka’s best bowler. Soon after revealing their preliminary Champions Trophy team, Australia was beset by injury issues. And it’s all come true since Josh Hazlewood and their captain Pat Cummins, who are part of their front-line pace group, are sidelined due to injuries.
