Sri Lanka secured an eight-wicket victory over Australia, powered by Pathum Nissanka’s unbeaten 100, to advance to the Super 8s of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Anil Kumble and Matthew Hayden, alongside Sri Lanka Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya, analyzed Nissanka’s dominance, Australia’s bowling struggles, and Sri Lanka’s impeccable performance. Anil Kumble hailed Sri Lanka's comprehensive win over Australia:
“Pathum Nissanka played an outstanding knock, one of the best innings in this World Cup and the tournament’s first hundred. That was the game-changer. Sri Lanka executed the chase perfectly. Their first 10 overs with the ball weren’t ideal, but from Travis Head’s dismissal, it was all Sri Lanka. You could sense their hunger, especially with Matheesha Pathirana injured, Dushmantha Chameera stepped up brilliantly, bowling three crucial overs at the death. Pathum didn’t just score a hundred; he stayed till the end to finish the job.” Matthew Hayden spoke about Australia's bowling and lavished praise on Pathum Nissanka:
“Australia’s attack lacked teeth without Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood. Even with Cameron Green as an all-rounder, Mitch Marsh barely used him. Nathan Ellis has been excellent lately, but Adam Zampa was off today; he’s normally so consistent. How often do you see Zampa bowl two drag-downs in his first over, exactly when Australia needed a breakthrough after Sri Lanka’s steady Powerplay? That over nullified the threat, and you could see the pressure build on him immediately. Credit to Pathum Nissanka’s 100 off 52 balls, absolute control and perfectly in sync. He unleashed innovative and powerful shots. With boundaries at 80m straight and nearly 70m square, Nissanka delivered a magical innings that Sri Lankan fans will cherish forever.” Sri Lanka Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya spoke highly of his Indian support staff for their contribution:
“R Sridhar, our fielding coach from India, and Vikram Rathour, our batting coach, are outstanding additions. They deliver exactly what we need in practice. Sridhar excels with fielding, and Vikram, with his IPL experience, works brilliantly with the batters. They gel well with the group and instilled real confidence in our players. Even when we coaches sometimes get desperate, we’ve backed the batting unit, and their contributions have been excellent.” On Sri Lanka’s strategy:
“We targeted Zampa as the key threat. If he bowls well, we shut him down early, then attack the others. With dew making the pitch better, we backed our batters. Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka batted superbly; Pathum never let up after that, sealing it with a big hundred. Pavan Rathnayake is another bright future star for Sri Lanka. He’s playing brilliant cricket despite limited T20 experience.”
