The joy didn't last long for Sri Lanka on Tuesday. A sizeable crowd despite all the hardships, and a good start from the top-three. For a moment, it looked like there will be something to cheer about for the Sri Lankans. But it turned out to be a flicker as they ended up losing the first T20 International match against Australia by 10 wickets, who reached the target of 129 runs with 36 balls to spare on a sluggish Colombo pitch.
Put into bat by Aaron Finch in the tour-opener, Sri Lanka got off to a very good start, posting 39 in 4.2 overs. The hosts then raced to 100 in 12 overs, losing only two wickets.
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But the visitors hit back. Charith Asalanka (38) was the only other Sri Lankan batter except for the openers Pathum Nissanka (36) and Danushka Gunathilaka (26) to cross the 20-run mark.
And doing the damage was the Aussie pace duo of Mitchell Starc (3/26) and Josh Hazlewood (4/16). From 102/3 in 11.6 overs, Sri Lanka slumped to 128 all out in 19.3 overs.
Two ducks, those of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka, and the wicket of Kusal Mendis to Hazlewood in the 14th over decisively turned the match.
Then Finch (61) and David Warner (70) toyed with the Sri Lankan bowlers even as the chase was halted due to a passing shower.
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Wanindu Hasaranga, one of the stars in the just-concluded IPL 2022, was hit for 27 runs in two overs. Other IPL players, Maheesh Theekshana and Dushmantha Chameera were also not spared.
This was Australia's 11th win in 12 matches against Sri Lanka in T20Is. The win also helped the reigning world champions take a 14-9 lead in the head-to-head record.
Sri Lanka were the victors in their previous meeting in February at the MCG, but Dasun Shanaka & Co. found themselves cluelessly devoid of answers against a dominant Australian side at home.
After the match, Shanaka said that "it was a day everything went wrong" for Sri Lanka. "First game of the series, hoping we'll have better days. Batters will definitely come with a plan in the next game. We got a strong side, it's only a matter of one win."
Josh Hazlewood was named player of the match. And the pacer reflected on the conditions.
"It's obviously quite hot here, quite sweaty. Wicket is slow, but you can use that to your advantage," he said.
A satisfied Finch, who wrapped up the chase with a four and six off successive deliveries in the 14th over bowled by Dushmantha Chameera, said that the players in the team "know their roles. It's just about giving them confidence."
The winning captain hailed Hazlewood's performance and cherished that unbroken opening stand with Warner.
"With the ball when Josh is bowling consistent lengths, we know how hard it is to face that. SL played well in the powerplay, and we were able to control the middle overs. Was nice to get a few, have a good partnership with Davey there," he said.
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The second T20I is scheduled for Wednesday, starting at 7:00 PM IST.
In a T20 World Cup year, Sri Lanka will need to find answers quickly.
