Pathum Nissanka walked off the Pallekele outfield smiling, bat raised, job done. His unbeaten 100 from 52 balls – the first century of this T20 World Cup – powered Sri Lanka to 182 with a comfortable two overs to spare and, more importantly, booked an early ticket to the Super Eights.
The chase looked stiff when Australia posted 181 for 6, yet Nissanka and Kusal Mendis peeled 97 at better than ten an over, neutralising the asking rate long before the closing stages. “After we lost the first wicket, Kusal and I just planned to have a good powerplay,” Nissanka explained. “He got a good start and that made things easier for me. We thought that there would be some dew, so the plan was to bat normally until that arrived. After 12 overs we were going to take stock and one of us would make a charge.”
In the end no dew turned up, something Mitchell Marsh confirmed afterwards, saying conditions “didn’t feel dewy”. It hardly mattered. Once Mendis holed out for 51 (38 balls), Nissanka simply shifted gears, scoring 50 off his last 20 deliveries with five fours and three sixes. The century came from the fifth ball of the 18th over, nudged wide of long-on, prompting a modest fist pump rather than anything extravagant. “I had a big target to hit a 100 in this World Cup, so I’m happy I was able to do that,” he said. “We had played a match on this wicket, and we knew it was good for batting. Because Kusal and I batted well also, Australia couldn’t bowl so well to us.”
The opener’s evening had already included a moment of airborne brilliance. One over after grassing Glenn Maxwell at long-on, he flung himself left at backward point to pluck a reverse-swept bullet from the middle of Maxwell’s bat. “After the first catch went down, I was disappointed because I knew we had to get his wicket. I made up my mind in that moment that I needed to do something special for the team. I thought he might play a reverse sweep in that moment and I was watching for it in the field. Fortunately I was able to complete the catch.”
Former Sri Lanka all-rounder Farveez Maharoof felt the century “came exactly when the side needed it most”, while Ashton Agar and analyst Saba Karim both highlighted Nissanka’s calm tempo rather than raw power. None of them sounded surprised; the 26-year-old’s method – still head, quick hands – has been a known threat in white-ball cricket for a while.
Sri Lanka now have a dead rubber against Ireland, which might allow them to rotate bowlers or rest Mendis’s hamstring. Australia, meanwhile, must beat Pakistan to avoid calculators on the final day. Either way, Nissanka’s hundred has thrown Group C wide open and reminded everyone that balanced plans, executed well, still trump talk about conditions that never quite arrive.
