Nissanka masterclass stuns Australia, SL secure S8 spot: T20 World Cup No 30 (Pallekele)

Sri Lanka routed Australia by 8 wickets in their critical Group-stage clash at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Kandy as the hosts progressed to the Super 8 round.

Australia were bowled out for 181 in 20 overs, with Mitchell Marsh scoring 54 and Travis Head adding 56, but Sri Lanka’s bowlers kept striking at regular intervals to prevent a bigger total.  But after Head was dismissed the innings collapsed with Australia losing ten wickets for 77 in 69 balls.

In reply, Sri Lanka cruised to 184/2 in 18 overs, powered by a magnificent 100 off 52 balls from Pathum Nissanka and a fluent 51 from Kusal Mendis.

The dominant chase sealed qualification momentum for Sri Lanka, while Australia were all but eliminated as they are left needing results elsewhere to stay in contention.

Sri Lanka 184 for 2 (Nissanka 100*, Kusal Mendis 51*, Stoinis 2-46) beat Australia 181 (Head 56, Marsh 54, Hemantha 3-37, Chameera 2-36) by eight wickets.

Feb 2026.