At the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, February 14, Sri Lanka defeated Australia by 174 runs in the second One-Day International of the two-match series. The series was won 2-0 by the home team.
After winning the toss, Charith Asalanka chose to bat first once more. After losing Pathum Nissanka in the sixth over, the home team didn’t start off well. But Kusal Mendis and Nishan Madushka came together and put together a strong 98-run partnership off 115 balls. After scoring a solid half-century, the former was removed.
Asalanka was called into question after Kamindu Mendis was fired cheaply. After that, Kusal Mendis scored his fifth century in ODI cricket. After hitting 11 fours and smashing 101 off 115 balls, he finally left. Sri Lanka finished with a solid score of 281/4 in 50 overs thanks to 66 runs from the final 35 balls added by Asalanka and Janith Liyanage.
Asalanka hit six fours and three sixes to remain undefeated at 78 off 66 balls. In the meantime, Janith Liyanage used three fours and two sixes to score 32 off 21 balls.
Australia would have hoped for a strong start as they chased a difficult total. However, Sri Lanka was on a roll and they lost three wickets in the first seven overs. Steve Smith and Josh Inglis combined for 46 runs as the tourists rallied. But after Dunith Wellalage broke that combination, the other batsmen found it difficult to contend with the elite Sri Lankan spinners.
Despite Smith’s 34-ball 29 to top the scoring, the tailenders and lower-order quickly left. In 24.2 overs, Australia was knocked out for 107. Wellalage finished with statistics of 4/35 in 7.2 overs, making him the best bowler for Sri Lanka. Wanindu Hasaranga and Asitha Fernando, meanwhile, each claimed three wickets.
Here’s how ‘X’ users reacted to Sri Lanka’s thumping win against Australia:
ODI average away from home
Virat Kohli – 56.16
AB De Villiers – 54.20
Kane Williamson – 53.42
Joe Root – 48.46
Hashim Amla -46.15
Rohit Sharma – 44.04
David Warner – 44.03
Ross Taylor – 43.30
Steve Smith – 35.19#SLvsAUS pic.twitter.com/PBNn3FsZg6— Arnav Singh (@Arnavv43) February 14, 2025
Death, Taxes and Fraser-McGurk failing with the bat lol. He must have some good dirt on selectors lol 🤦♂️ The dude is probably averaging like 10 across all formats and comps combined the last 10 months or so #SLvsAUS
— Mathew (@Brooma_23) February 14, 2025
Adam Zampa – Superb brilliance..
Australian —Fielding
Especially in pressure situation 🔥#SLvsAUS pic.twitter.com/M1frElPqcl— alekhaNikun (@nikun28) February 14, 2025
CRICKET WHILE WORKING 🏏❤️
3 ODIS TOGETHER👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼🌟🌟🌟#INDvsENG #PAKvsSA#SLvsAUS#Cricket pic.twitter.com/RXenzXtu3X
— Archisman Mishra (@iamarchis16) February 12, 2025
🚨Sri Lanka Wins ODI series 2-0 agianst Australlia Comfortably.
Disappointing to see SriLanka Missing Out on the Champions Trophy, SriLanka have been playing real good Cricket In ODIs since 2023 World Cup.#ChampionsTrophy2025 #SLvsAUS pic.twitter.com/lE6Nt6r2pp
— Gurjinder Bal (@Gurjind56659796) February 14, 2025
SL vs AUS ODI Match Update:-
Australia all out for 107 in the 2nd ODI
Sri Lanka won by 174 runs in a dominant performance
Series victory (2-1) for Sri Lanka 🔥
Australia struggled with batting, failing to chase the target
Sri Lanka’s bowlers dominated, securing a massive win pic.twitter.com/zvkCk6xJcy— Mayank🇮🇳 (@mk_srivastava20) February 14, 2025
Dismissal of Inglis #SLvsAUSpic.twitter.com/BzRmlmLnIt
— Rohit Baliyan (@rohit_balyan) February 14, 2025
SL had lost the test series 0-2 now they have won the ODI series 2-0..awesome series..#AUSvsSL I really doubt this #AUS team will win the #ChampionsTrophy2025 without their key fast bowlers..#IND are the favourites now..let’s see what happens #SLvsAus pic.twitter.com/bOQqKzgJrb
— Kaka____Singh (@kakabhukal) February 14, 2025
Sunny n good for cricket 🏏
Teams warming up!#SLvsAUS #Cricket pic.twitter.com/yrs9qXqM1O
— Prasanna Rodrigo (@Prasanrod) February 14, 2025
India
