2nd T2OI: Clinical Australia hammer Sri Lanka by 9 wickets to seal series
Opener David Warner and Steven Smith's respective unbeaten half-centuries powered Australia to a thumping nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second contest of the three-match T20I series on Wednesday. Chasing a paltry 118-run target, the duo comfortably steered Australia home with seven overs to spare.
While Warner played a 41-ball unbeaten 60-run knock, Smith also played a 36-ball 53-run unbeaten cameo. Warner's innings was laced with nine boundaries while Smith's knock contained six fours.
Chasing the target, Australia was jolted early in the proceedings as Sri Lanka skipper and pacer Lasith Malinga packed back opener Aaron Finch in the very third ball of the first over. Finch failed to open his account as the hosts' scorecard read 1/1.
However, there was no looking back from there as Warner and Smith didn't let the visitors make any further inroads in the Australian batting line-up and their 117-run unbeaten partnership was enough to help the hosts cross the line with seven overs to spare.
Earlier, Sri Lanka's decision to bat went wrong as the Australian bowlers didn't allow the tourists to settle in the middle. A disciplined bowling effort from Billy Stanlake, Pat Cummins, Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa, who all scalped two wickets each, bundled out the islanders at just 117 runs in 19 overs.
Sri Lanka stumper Kusal Perera and opener Danushka Gunathilaka were the top scorers for their side with their 27 and 21 runs respectively as all others failed to score.
With this win, Australia have already clinched the three-match series 2-0 with a contest left.
Brief score: Australia 118/1 in 13 overs (David Warner 60 not out, Steven Smith 53 not out; Lasith Malinga 1/23) beat Sri Lanka 117 all out (Kusal Perera 27, Danushka Gunathilaka 21; Adam Zampa 2/20) by 9 wickets.
