Australia beat Sri Lanka by three wickets at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. After opting to bowl, Australia restricted Sri Lanka to 124/9 before Wanindu Hasaranga (4-33) hit back, reducing them to 99/7. However, Australia still had 49 balls at their disposal, and Matthew Wade (26*) and Jhye Richardson (9*) saw them home with 13 balls to spare.
Sri Lanka were reduced to 7/2 before Charith Asalanka (39) and Kusal Mendis (36) added 66. Then Asalanka mistimed a slog, while Mendis tried to pull Kane Richardson and smashed the stumps with his bat. None of the subsequent batters reached 15, and Sri Lanka lost their way towards the end. From 121/5 in 18.5 overs, they lost four wickets in six balls without scoring a run – and perhaps lost out on about 10 runs that turned out to be vital. Kane Richardson (4-30), Jhye Richardson (3-26), and Glenn Maxwell (2-18) shared the wickets.
Australia launched a ferocious attack in response, losing three wickets inside the Powerplay but scoring 63 at the same time. From 80/5, Maxwell and Wade took them to 99/5 before Hasaranga struck with consecutive balls to bring Sri Lanka back into the game. However, Wade saw out Hasaranga to seal the game.
Brief scores
Sri Lanka 124/9 in 20 overs (Charith Asalanka 39; Kane Richardson 4-30) lost to Australia 126/7 in 17.5 overs (Matthew Wade 26*; Wanindu Hasaranga 4-33) by 3 wickets with 13 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Matthew Wade.