A few months ago, 5 international cricketers were asked which side they thought were going to be the ‘dark horse’ for the upcoming world cup. All of them either said West Indies, Pakistan or Bangladesh. None of them mentioned Sri Lanka. And in a way, it’s justified. Their performances in the last 5 years have been dismal to say the least.

But now, sitting at the number 5 spot, all they have to do is win the remainder of their games to qualify for the top 4. Their game against world cup favorites England last night proved a point to everyone watching. They have a knack of doing this. We saw something similar in the 2017 Champions Trophy game against India.

After the first half, it looked done. There was no way a team like England was going to be restricted to under 232. Little did we know what the experienced Lasith Malinga had in store. Picking up 4 crucial wickets of Vince, Bairstow, Root and Buttler. Akila Dananjaya looked impressive too.

Even though the bowling stood out, Sri Lanka’s batting performance wasn’t too bad either. They mightn’t have gotten a big score on the board, but it would be fair to say that young Avishka Fernando was terrific with the bat. He counterattacked the barrage of short balls bowled by the English pacers with utmost ease. He might have played one shot too many, but he definitely had a ton to his name. I haven’t seen many subcontinent batsmen play the hook shot with such ease.

There’s still a task ahead of Sri Lanka, with 3 games to go, against South Africa, West Indies and India. All of them which they have to win if they are to qualify. Until then, we can only hope that they keep putting up performances like this so that there is still hope for Sri Lankan cricket.

-Vibhor Dubey

Every time David Warner steps onto the field, you can almost guarantee he will play with the same passion and intensity. Even after all the controversy that was surrounding him for the last 15 months, he has batted like the David Warner we all know. Taking the game to the opposition and never taking the foot off the accelerator. His 166* off 147 balls yesterday showed us the value that he brings to the Australian side. Even though he looked a bit scratchy in the game against India, he hasn’t let that get to him. Striking at 112.92, he made the Bangladesh’s bowling line up look rather ordinary.

Warner wasn’t the only positive for Australia, with all of their top 4 getting runs. Finch looked steady in his mammoth opening stand with Warner. Khawaja was in supreme touch, even after not clearing the ropes on one occasion, he was striking at 123.61. Maxwell coming in at number 4 was probably the biggest plus point for Australia. He bludgeoned the Bangladesh attack in his cameo of 32 off 10 nuts. His form is crucial if this Aussie side is to go a long way in the tournament.

Even though the team in gold had posted a humongous score of 381 on the board, Bangladesh gave them a bit of a scare with the second wicket partnership of over a 100. But Australia did well to pull back the game in the middle overs, with Stoinis, Starc and Zampa picking crucial wickets through the middle. Shakib, Tamim and Mahmudullah were the pick of the Bangladesh lot, as their team succumbed to 333/8, falling short by 48 runs.

-Vibhor Dubey