T20 World Cup: Australia cruise to victory over Sri Lanka to keep 100% record

Australia maintained their 100% record in the Men's T20 World Cup with a dominant seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka.

When he was dismissed in the 15th over, Australia needed just 25 to win.

At the halfway stage, Sri Lanka's 154-6 looked competitive on a slow pitch but their bowlers struggled for consistency and Warner and Aaron Finch (37) capitalised.

Having been put in to bat, Charith Asalanka (35) and Kusal Perera (35) propelled Sri Lanka to 78-2 with 10 overs left.

But they squandered the opportunity to make the most of that platform as Adam Zampa (2-12) heaped the pressure on the batters, and they staggered to 94-5.

Thanks to a quickfire 33 off 26 balls from Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka gave their bowlers something to defend.

But they failed to build any pressure as wayward bowling allowed Warner and Finch to free their arms.

They reached 63 from the six-over powerplay and Steve Smith (28 not out) and Marcus Stoinis (16 not out) finished the job for Australia with ease.

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Warner finds his groove

Opener Warner was under pressure.

He made 14 in Australia's first match against South Africa and scores of one and a duck in their warm-up matches. Before that, he was dropped by Sunrisers Hyderabad, his IPL franchise, in the latter stages of that tournament.

But the cricket world knows that Warner is a fighter and he is not a player that teams will want to write off.

Granted, he was given a life on 18 when wicketkeeper Kusal Perera dropped a ridiculously easy catch, and Sri Lanka's bowling was certainly substandard, but this was Warner at his brutal, belligerent best.

His first boundary came from a brave reverse sweep and that set the tone for the rest of his innings: he picked the gaps between fielders to perfection and refused to let any bowler settle - in stark contrast to how Sri Lanka's batters had allowed Zampa to tie them in knots.

For Australia, it is the perfect time for Warner to find some form. Their next opponents? England, on Saturday.

Chasing - the key to success in the UAE

There have been 10 games in the Super 12 stage of the World Cup so far and nine of them have been won by the team chasing.

Only Afghanistan, who posted 190 before bowling Scotland out for 60, have been able to defend a score so far.

Much of the pre-tournament discussion has been around the dew that settles in the UAE evenings that makes the ball difficult to grip as a bowler, and subsequently gives an advantage to the team batting second.

In a format in which we expect big scores and bat to dominate ball, this World Cup so far appears to be offering something a little different - scores of 140-150 seem to be more competitive as spin plays a bigger role.

But it only works if your bowlers back you up, of course. Sri Lanka did not quite get that bit right - just ask Dushmantha Chameera (see above).

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