Mooney steers Australia to victory over Sri Lanka

Women's T20 World Cup, Sharjah

Sri Lanka 93-7 (20 overs): De Silva 29* (40); Schutt 3-12

Australia 94-4 (14.2 overs): Mooney 43* (38), Perry 17 (15)

Australia won by six wickets

Scorecard

Australia began the defence of their T20 World Cup title with a comfortable six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Sharjah.

The six-time champions suffered a slight wobble, falling to 35-3 in pursuit of just 94, but opener Beth Mooney's unbeaten 43 led them over the line with 34 balls to spare.

Sri Lanka were thoroughly outplayed in a pitiful batting effort and crawled to 93-7 from their 20 overs as Australia started in predictably ruthless fashion.

And while Sri Lanka fought bravely with the three early wickets on a slow pitch offering some uneven bounce, they ultimately paid the price for such a paltry total as Australia's strength in depth once again prevailed.

The sluggish pitch did not allow for Australia's usual free-flowing style, as captain Alyssa Healy fell for four, Georgia Wareham was clumsily run out for three and star all-rounder Ellyse Perry was bowled for 17.

Yet Mooney, who was dropped on 22, held her nerve despite struggling in the brutal heat.

There were also some uncharacteristic mistakes in the field, with five front-foot no-balls bowled and Darcie Brown dropping a simple catch, but Healy's side recovered brilliantly with a relentless display to stifle Sri Lanka.

Nilakshi de Silva and Harshitha Samarawickrama made 29 and 23 respectively but their efforts came from 35 and 40 balls, as captain Chamari Athapaththu's early departure once again proved costly.

Sri Lanka are now facing a disappointing group-stage exit having lost their two opening matches, needing a big win against India on Wednesday and for other results to go their way.

Australia face New Zealand on Monday, a tantalising prospect after the White Ferns' emphatic win over India in their opener.

Magnificent Mooney rescues Australia

The opening matches of this World Cup have seen several low scores as teams learn to adjust to the slow pitch and outfield, particularly at Sharjah, and for once, Australia were no exception.

In the first innings, it was a complete mismatch in class between the sides as Sri Lanka's batters had no answers to Megan Schutt's accuracy in the opening powerplay, with the seamer finishing with 3-12 and Ash Gardner getting the key scalp of Athapaththu.

Brown had a difficult day as she struggled with her run-up and against a stronger team, Australia could have been punished - out of Sri Lanka's dire powerplay of 23-2, 14 of the runs came from extras or free hits.

But while the win was set up by the bowlers, batting seemed particularly difficult, even for a world-class line-up that boasts all-rounder Annabel Sutherland batting as low as eight.

Healy may have been fatigued from 20 overs of keeping when she missed a straight one from Udeshika Prabodhani, Wareham was short of her ground from Kavisha Dilhari's excellent throw and Perry was going nicely with 17 from 15 balls before a rare error in judgement, going back to the spinner when the ball was keeping low.

Mooney then added 43 for the fourth wicket with Gardner, who eventually fell for 12 with just 15 more runs required, and she provided the perfect blend of calmness and confidence that was required.

She was visibly exhausted, with her shirt drenched in sweat and an ice pack balanced on her head during the drinks break, but it was testament to her determination and stamina that she kept pushing ones and twos when the boundaries were difficult to come by.

Sharjah in particular looks like a ground that will be dictated by the pitch and its long boundaries, and if the world's best and fittest team are finding it tough, others will be alarmed.

'Decent without being perfect' - reaction

Player of the match Megan Schutt: "We could have been a bit cleaner, it was quite a slow outfield so there was an adjustment and there’s a bit to work on.

"In the heat it was tough, but we feel like we have finally acclimatised as we haven’t played here before.”

Australia captain Alyssa Healy: "We were decent without being perfect. We adapted to the conditions and just hung in there and scored at the end of the innings.

"We're so blessed with so much depth we don't know quite what to do with it, we've got batters we can move up and down the order."

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu: "We have been playing good cricket in the last two months, but we have struggled on these tracks with low bounce and pace off. We cannot complain, we have to play these conditions and try to play positive cricket at all times."