Sri Lanka have sealed a spot in ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals after beating Australia by 20 runs at The Oval to clinch second spot in Group A.
Australia knew that they had a difficult task going into the game after losing to England in their opening match and facing a wash-out in the second tie against New Zealand. It left a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the defending champions.
Sri Lanka batted first and hit a competitive total of 254 runs in 29.1 overs.
The southern hemisphere side made a positive start to their innings with a good run-rate but tailed off and fell short, making an early exit rooted bottom of the group.
Man-of-the-match Mahela Jayawardene insists that his side had a clear idea of how to approach the match, and, although they could have qualified top of the group if they bowled the Baggy Greens out for 164 or less, they were more than happy to just get the win and set up a date with India.
Jayawardene said: “We are playing hard and passionate cricket. That has been the mantra of our success in the past and I hope it continues in the future also.
“We look forward to another tough match in the semi-final.”
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