Women's T20 World Cup: Beth Mooney guides Australia to victory over Sri Lanka in their title defence
Australia slipped to 35-2 replying to Sri Lanka's 93-7 but Beth Mooney helped her side recover; Sri Lanka have now lost two games on the bounce and sit in fourth place in Group A above India; watch all the matches from the T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports
Monday 7 October 2024 19:33, UK
Australia began their T20 World Cup title defence with a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday in Sharjah.
Medium pacer Megan Schutt (3-12) picked up a three-wicket haul in four overs, while left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux (2-20) claimed two, as Sri Lanka was restricted to 93-7 in 20 overs.
In reply, Beth Mooney (43no) led the charge helping Australia recover from 35-3 as they reached their total in just 14.2 overs.
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Opting to bat, Sri Lanka suffered crucial early blows after their skipper Chamari Athapaththu (3) was out lbw to Ashleigh Gardner (1-14) cheaply.
Schutt and Molineux then combined to hit the top-order hard as Sri Lanka slipped to 25-3 in 6.4 overs.
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Nilakshi de Silva (29) top-scored off 40 balls, while Harshitha Madavi added 23 and their 31-run partnership for the fourth wicket helped to add impetus to the innings.
Molineux broke that partnership in the 13th over, and then Sri Lanka collapsed to 89-7 within another 6.2 overs as they posted a below-par total.
In reply, Australia's top-order struggled as well with captain Alyssa Healy (4) and Georgia Wareham (3) out in single figures.
Australia found themselves on the brink of a collapse when left-arm finger spinner Sugandika Kumari (1-16) bowled Ellyse Perry (17) in the sixth over.
However, Mooney dug deep and found support from Gardner (12) as they added 43 off only 40 balls as sped up Australia's chase in the second half.
Sri Lanka have now lost two games on the trot in Group A and are nearly out of contention from advancing to the semi-finals.
What's next for each side at Women's T20 World Cup?
Australia face New Zealand on Tuesday October 8 whilst Sri Lanka look to make a come back against their poor start when they face India on Wednesday October 9.
Both games will be live on Sky Sports at 3pm.
India also face Pakistan in a blockbuster clash on Sunday October 6 at 11am, with coverage live on Sky Sports at 10.30am.
Watch every match of the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports, concluding with the final in Dubai on Sunday October 20.
