There have been five matches so far in the tournament. Among them, Australia started its World Cup journey with a bang by winning against New Zealand by 97 runs. In addition to the massive victory by Australia, Sri Lanka showed a great performance by winning two for two.
How Australia won their Match
Australia start their campaign in style 💪
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— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) February 11, 2023
Defending champions Australia gave a strong start to this year’s World Cup with a 97-win victory. This victory is largely thanks to a half-century by Alyssa Healy and forties by Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry. Their run scores took Australia to a total of 173 for nine.
During the game, Australia scored the highest total of the tournament so far from a partnership between Alyssa Healy and captain Meg Lanning. Healy and Lanning put on 71 for the second wicket before Lanning was bowled by Amelia Kerr in the 10th over.
Healy also partnered with Ellyse Perry and added exactly 100 runs in the second half of their innings, scoring 50 off 28 balls for the fourth wicket. At the end of their innings, Australia had a total of 173/9.
While the team showed a superb performance with their batting, their bowling was just as strong. Among the bowlers, off-spinner Ash Gardner took a career-best five for 12. Aside from Gardener, Brown took 1/11 from her four overs, and Gardner finished with a stunning five-wicket haul, ending with 5/12 from three overs.
Following this match, Australia will play against Bangladesh on February 15. New Zealand, meanwhile, will play against South Africa on February 14.
How Sri Lanka Got Their 2nd Win
Sri Lanka’s 7-wicket victory against Bangladesh marked their 2nd win in the tournament. During the match, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bat in the match. Among Sri Lanka’s bowlers, spin trio Inoka Ranaweera (3/18), Oshadi Ranasinghe (2/20), and Sugandika Kumari (2/28) were the ones to restrict Bangladesh to 126/8
When Sri Lanka stepped up to bat, Harshitha Samarawickrama and Nilakshi Silva were the heroes of the team. They stitched together a century stand to help Sri Lanka chase down the target of 127 in Cape Town against Bangladesh.
Aside from the duo, Skipper Chamari Athapaththu smashed 68 off 50 deliveries and stitched an 86-run second-wicket stand with Vishmi Gunaratne to help the Sri Lankans post 129/4 on the board.
While Sri Lanka gave a superb performance, Bangladesh showed a great effort. As stated, Bangladesh’s next match is against Australia on the 15th. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is facing Australia on the 16th.
The 2023 World Cup so Far
The 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup has had five matches so far, and the next match on February 13 is between Ireland and England. On February 14, the first match of the day will be between South Africa and New Zealand.
Currently, Sri Lanka is number one in their group standings with four points and a net run rate of +0.430. Australia, meanwhile, is 2nd with two points and a net run rate of +4.850.