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Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs to make it four wins out of five matches. This means that the defending champions have risen to the top of the table and find themselves in a great position to qualify for the semi-finals. On the other hand, the loss for Sri Lanka means that they have to virtually win all their matches to qualify for semi-finals.
Chasing a huge target of 335 against a bowling line up like Australia Sri Lankan openers got their team off to a flying start to give hope to the fans of the island nation. The two built an opening partnership of more than 100 before Kusal Perera got out for 52.
Dimuth Karunaratne played a captain's knock but he missed out on a well deserved century. Once he got out, Sri Lankan innings collapsed as they lost last eight wickets for just runs. Mitchell Starc emerged as the star of Australian bowling performance as he ended up with figures of 4/56.
Earlier in the day, Australians were sent to bat first by Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne. Aaron Finch got his team off to a great start but David Warner struggled for timing. After a good opening stand of 80 runs, Australia lost two wickets quickly.
The Australian captain built a great partnership for the third wicket with former captain Steve Smith. Aaron Finch completed a brilliant century as he scored 153 runs to put his team in driving seat. Sri Lanka pulled themselves back into the game by picking wickets in the slog overs. Glenn Maxwell scored 46 off 25 balls to ensure that Australia was able to cross the 330 mark.
The Australian captain was the star of the match as he led his team from the front. His mammoth innings proved to be the difference between the two teams. Apart from his effort with the bat, his captaincy also played a big role in the success of his team.
Also see - IND vs PAK world cup history
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