SL vs AUS Live Score

5:29 PM IST Player Of The Match - Pathum Nissanka

5:29 PM IST This is why, the IPL is so important for cricket. It shapes up cricketers, not just from India, but from around the world as well. Remember, Nathan Ellis has represented the Punjab Kings in the past and that's where he developed his lovely death-bowling skills. Sri Lanka have got some advantage too. Matheesha Pathirana is a well-known product but this is Chameera 2.0. He seemed to be going down in his career but his stint with the Lucknow Super Giants in 2022 really changed him totally. Come 2026, he is a much experienced and a better version of his previous self and if you need any more proof, you just need to revisit his last couple of overs and that wicket of Josh Inglis, where he changed his pace brilliantly. Sri Lanka were a bowler down as early as the third over, but they raliied around and came back strongly post the opening partnership. The spinners choked the Aussies with Dushan Hemantha picking up the most number of wickets - 3.

5:25 PM IST Could the Aussies have done any better in the second innings? Yes, picked up 9 more wickets. Jokes apart, given the experience of THIS attack, not much. In the absence of the 'Big Three', this bowling attack just does not have the experience of bowling in Asian conditions. Adam Zampa is probably the only one but he was put under pressure from the first ball he bowled and even he came under pressure. The likes of Bartlett and Ellis are good, but not too experienced in sub-continental conditions. Nathan Ellis is improving a lot, but he will need to play at least a couple of more seasons of the IPL to get to the level of a Hazlewood or a Cummins. The one main difference which could be seen is the lack of change of pace by the Aussie bowlers. It is not like they don't do it, but don't have enough practice to do it consistently with the wet ball. In the end, Stoinis did get a couple of wickets, but it will be fair enough to say that he is way past his prime with both bat and ball.

5:21 PM IST Pathum Nissanka Silva. What a player. One for the ages, who plays phenomenally in all three formats for the game. In the shortest format, he loves the Aussies, amassing 397 runs, at an average of 39.7 and a strike rate of 121.4. Those 397 are the second most in his career, behind 421 vs India. In this match, he started with a bang. When the length was short, he cut, punched and pulled. When the length was pitched up, he played on the up and went over the top. He reached his second century in T20Is, in just 52 balls, which included 10 fours and 5 sixes. His wagonwheel saw him play all around the ground. As much as we say that the conditions supported the batters in the second innings, we cannot take anything away from how the Lankan pair batted.

5:16 PM IST Was dew a factor? Definitely it was. The pitch seemed to change a lot across the two innings and even though Australia will be kicking themselves for throwing away a wonderful platform from 104/0 in the 9th over, batting first, after the Powerplay, seemed to get a lot difficult. So maybe, the toss played a pivotal role, but nothing can be taken from Nissanka and Mendis. 2016 - it was a Test match in Sri Lanka and the world came to know who was Kusal Mendis. Staring at an innings defeat, he turned the match around, by attacking Mitchell Starc, taking the Lankans to a winning position. He has not yet translated that in the T20I format, but in this game, he was excellent, playing a wonderful foil to Nissanka.

5:07 PM IST In normal scenarios, 182 is a pretty difficult target to achieve. And when Australia dismissed Kusal Perera in the second over, that target seemed even bigger. But what happened next was totally unexpected. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis counterattacked from the word go and their 97-run stand for the second wicket set things up nicely. Mitchell Marsh kept throwing the ball to different bowlers, using 6 options, but no one had any answer on how to stop the juggernaut. Mendis was eventually dismissed for 51 but even after that, there was barely any chance offered.