Samara Dulvin, Amy Hunter, and stand-in skipper Hasrat Gill star as Australia clinch a low-scoring thriller by four runs
Australia under-19 led by skipper Lucy Hamilton sealed a comprehensive 7-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the 3rd match of the Tri-series at the Bill Pippen Oval. The hosts Australia led by stand-in skipper Hasrat Gill in the absence of regular skipper Lucy Hamilton, were up against Sri Lanka led by skipper Manudi Nanayakkara in the 5th match of the Tri-series at the Bill Pippen Oval.
Australian skipper Hasrat Gill won the toss and opted to bat first. The Australian openers Lily Bassingthwaighte and Ines Mckeon got their side off to a cautious start with a 16-run opening partnership. Rashmi Nethranjali picked up the wicket of Lily to provide the first breakthrough for Sri Lanka. Samara Dulvin joined Ines Mckeon at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 28-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side close to the 50-run mark.
Hiruni Hansika picked up the wicket of Ines Mckeon to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Elizabeth Worthley joined Samara Dulvin at the crease and the duo stitched a 15-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 50-run mark. Hiruni Hansika returned and cleaned up Elizabeth Worthley to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Sri Lanka. Stand-in skipper Hasrat Gill soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 4th breakthrough for Sri Lanka.
Lucy Finn joined Samara Dulvin at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 39-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark. Rashmika Sewwandi cleaned up Samara Dulvin to provide the 5th breakthrough for her side. Australia eventually ended up with a total of 116/6 in their quota of 20 overs. Samara Dulvin (45 off 51 balls), Ines Mckeon (22 off 20 balls), and Lucy Finn (16 off 20 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Australia.
Hiruni Hansika (4-0-22-2), Asheni Thalagune (4-0-21-1), Rashmika Sewwandi (3-0-16-1), Rashmi Nethranjali (3-0-20-1), and Pramudi Methsara (2-0-10-1) were the top performers with the ball for Sri Lanka. Chasing a target of 117, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of their opening batter Hiruni Hansika for a golden duck. Amy Hunter provided the first breakthrough for Australia.
Vimoksha Balasuriya joined Sanjana Kavindi at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 68-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to lead a solid recovery taking their side into the driver’s seat in the run chase. Lily picked up the wicket of Vimoksha to provide a much-needed 2nd breakthrough for her side. Sanjana Kavindi soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Australia.
Skipper Manudi Nanayakkara joined wicket-keeper batter Sumudu Nisansala at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 19-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark, as the Sri Lankans inched closer to the target. Caoimhe Bray cleaned up wicket-keeper batter Sumudu Nisansala to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side.
Sri Lanka suffered a horrible collapse as they lost their last 6 wickets for just 18 runs. As a result, they were bundled out for 112, falling just four runs short of the target. Vimoksha Balasuriya (40 off 45 balls), Sanjana Kavindi (29 off 34 balls), and skipper Manudi Nanayakkara (14 off 13 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Sri Lanka.
Amy Hunter (3-0-9-2), stand-in skipper Hasrat Gill (4-0-17-2), Lily Bassingthwaighte (3-0-15-1), Juliette Morton (4-0-24-1), Caoimhe Bray (3-0-18-1), and Ella Briscoe (2-0-18-1) were the top performers with the ball for Australia.