Twitter Reactions: Mooney, Schutt help Australia clinch low-scorer against Sri Lanka

Australia Women. (Source – Twitter/X)

Australia defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in their opening game of the T20 World Cup 2024. The current Asia champions Sri Lanka lost their opening game of the campaign against Pakistan and now a defeat to Australia nearly pushed them out of the competition. Even though the Chamari Athapaththu-led side is mathematically in the race, they would need calculators and prayers to make it to the semis after two losses on the trot.

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first in Sharjah, a surface that has helped the spinners so far. It was the right decision but the Lankan batters failed to step up yet again as opener Vishmi Gunaratne departed for a 10-ball duck while captain Athapaththu made just three off 12. They were under immense pressure right from the start as Australia dictated the game.

Batting at three, Harshitha Samarawickrama tried to rescue Sri Lanka but the 26-year-old struggled for momentum, scoring 23 off 35. Alongside Samarawickrama, Nilakshi de Silva’s unbeaten 29 off 40 led Sri Lanka to a paltry 93 runs in the first innings. For Australia, Megan Schutt picked up three wickets for just 12 runs, including a maiden, while Sophie Molineux registered figures of 2/20 in her four overs.

When it came to the chase, opener Bethe Mooney’s unbeaten 43 held Australia in good stead. She was brilliant in rotating the strike, which put Sri Lanka under pressure. Despite losing Alyssa Healy early, Australia managed to keep themselves on track. They lost wickets from time to time but that did not bother Mooney, as she helped the team to get the job done with 34 balls remaining.

Sri Lanka would be highly disappointed with the performance as their campaign is close to being over. Up next, the team will face India on October 9, followed by New Zealand on October 12. Australia, on the other hand, will play New Zealand next on October 8, followed by Pakistan on October 11 and India on October 13. 

Here’s how X reacted:

Mighty Australia’s era in men’s cricket may have ended, but their dominance continues through their women’s cricket team 😍

— Nitin Kumar (@Nitin_kumar57) October 5, 2024

#AUSvSL

Australia women won by six wickets.

— Tanveer Hussain (@TANVIR_HS) October 5, 2024

Australia starts strong in womens T20 World Cup 2024!

Beth Mooney’s 43 and Alyssa Healy’s 17* lead the charge as they comfortably chase down Sri Lanka’s 94 runs target comfortably and winning with 5.4 overs to spare.#AUSvSL #T20WorldCup #Cricket pic.twitter.com/VZ9cDSs9rn

— Muhammad Areeb Uddin Sheikh. #AreebCricketWorld (@areeb_7official) October 5, 2024

“AUS-W SEAL THE WIN! 🏏🎉

SL-W: 93/7 (20.0 ov)
AUS-W: 94/4 (14.2 ov)

Australia Women beat Sri Lanka Women by 6 wickets! 🇦🇺💪

AUS-W’s impressive chase secures victory! 🏆#AUSvSL #WomensCricket #T20WorldCup #CricketLive #AUSWomen #SLWomen pic.twitter.com/hq5c6TntzN

— Ramanatha Rai (@Rai_RamTweets) October 5, 2024

#SriLanka 🇱🇰 Women : 93/7 (20 ov)#Australia 🇦🇺 Women : 94/4 (14.2 ov)
Australia Women won by 6 wickets
Player of the match : Megan Schutt (Australia Women)#WomensT20WC24 🏏🏆️#AUSvSL pic.twitter.com/ONuEnFG358

— Ishara (@Ishara23032) October 5, 2024

Australia women swept away Sri Lanka women with such ease, started another tournament with a bang!
Cheat Code team!!#T20WomensWorldCup2024 #T20WomensWorldCup #AUSvSL #CricketTwitter

— Palash Pansey (@PALASHPANSEY) October 5, 2024

Hugely magin won by Australia women.

— BabarAzamfans (@babarazam0111) October 5, 2024

Australia women win the match by 6 Wickets against Sri Lanka 🙌 #AUSvSL #T20worldCup pic.twitter.com/5dtLvpn1u6

— T Sports RYK (@TSportsRYK) October 5, 2024

AUSTRALIA WOMEN BEAT SRILANKA WOMEN WITH SO MUCH EASE..!!!🔥

– 2nd Consecutive loss for Srilanka.
– Australia’s big in their first match.#AUSvSL #T20WomensWorldCup#Australia #SriLanka #Match pic.twitter.com/vtZzxULs3f

— 🏏CricketFeed (@CricketFeedIN) October 5, 2024