Defending champions Australia overcame a mighty scare to eventually beat Sri Lanka by six wickets after pacer Megan Schutt’s probing spell set them up for a small winning target in their women’s T20 World Cup campaign opener here Saturday. Set a paltry target of 94, Australia were 35/3 at the end of power play, losing captain Alyssa Healy (4), Georgia Wareham (3) and Ellyse Perry (17) early in their run chase. But, a 43-run partnership between Beth Mooney (43 not out) and Ashleigh Gardner (12) helped Australia go past the target with 34 balls to spare, as they made 94/4 in 14.2 overs.

Opting to bat, Sri Lanka struggled big time with Nilakshika Silva top-scoring with 29 not out as they huffed and puffed their way to 93 for 7.

Sri Lanka could hit just four boundaries in the whole innings. Schutt (3/12) also equalled South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail’s record scalp of 43 wickets across all editions of T20 World Cup. The Sri Lankans were 25/3 in the seventh over and 43/3 at the halfway stage, and they never recovered from there.

Interestingly, the Australians also bowled 13 extras, including five no-balls.

This was Sri Lanka’s second loss of the tournament, having lost to Pakistan on Thursday.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka: 93 for 7 in 20 overs (Nilakshika Silva 29 not out; Megan Schutt 3/12).

Australia: 94 for 4 in 14.2 overs (Beth Mooney 43 not out; Sugandika Kumari 1/16).

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