Australia, led by skipper Tegan Williamson, were up against Sri Lanka, led by skipper Chamodi Praboda, at the Bill Pippen Oval in the 6th match of the ongoing Under-19 Tri-series in Australia on 13th April 2026.
Sri Lanka were riding high on confidence as they defeated England by 8 runs in their previous clash. The Australian skipper, Tegan Williamson, won the toss and opted to bat first. The decision backfired for the home side as their batters were absolutely clueless against the Sri Lankan bowlers, and were particularly searching for answers to tackle their spin department.
The 15-run partnership for the 3rd wicket between the skipper, Tegan Williamson, and the opening batter, Ayla Johnson, was the highest partnership of the innings for Australia, as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. As a result, they were restricted to 91/9 in their quota of 20 overs.
Aurora Mavros (12* off 6 balls), Alyssa Dermody (13 off 12 balls), and Ayla Johnson (18 off 29 balls) chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat for Australia. The Sri Lankan bowlers were super disciplined with their bowling display, giving away just one extra in their whole innings, in the form of a wide.
Skipper Chamodi Praboda (4-0-21-2), Limansa Thilakarathne (4-0-26-3), Aseni Thalagune (4-0-13-1), Pramudi Methsara (3-0-9-0), and Danodya Sewmini (3-1-13-1) were the star performers with the ball for Sri Lanka.
Chasing a tricky target of 92, the Sri Lankan openers Vimoksha Balasuriya and Sanjana Kavindi got their side off to a cautious start with a 24-run opening partnership. Australia struck back through double strikes on successive deliveries from Filippa Suesee to remove Sanjana Kavindi (9 off 17 balls) and Umayangana Peiris for a golden duck in the 6th over of the run chase. Sri Lanka were quickly reduced to 28/3 in the 8th over of the innings, with the departure of Vimoksha Balasuriya (9 off 18 balls).
Limansa Thilakarthne joined Danodya Sewmini (14 off 23 balls) at the crease, and the duo stitched a much-needed 22-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take them to the 50-run mark. Ava Drury broke the stand by sending Danodya Sewmini back to the pavilion in the 13th over of the run chase, keeping the home side alive in the contest. Things spiced up even more as Sri Lanka were reduced to 63/6 in the 16th over of the run chase.
However, a calm and composed unbeaten 29-run partnership for the 7th wicket between Pramudi Methsara (21* off 17 balls) and Shashini Gimhani (7* off 8 balls) guided Sri Lanka over the line with 4 wickets in hand and three balls to spare. Limansa Thilakarathne (12 off 22 balls) chipped in with a crucial contribution with the bat for her side in a low-scoring thriller. There were as many as 13 extras bowled by Australian bowlers in the innings, which eventually cost them heavily.
Filippa Suesee (4-0-18-3), Ira Aery (3.3-0-13-2), Ava Drury (3-0-14-1), and skipper Tegan Williamson (4-0-19-0) were impressive with the ball for Australia. Pramudi Methsara was awarded the Player of the Match for her decisive all-round impact (3-0-9-0) in her spell with the ball, and keeping her calm and chipping in 21* (17 balls) with the bat for her side lower down the order, as Sri Lanka stunned Australia to register a memorable win Down Under.
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