London: After securing a victory over Sri Lanka in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, Australia cricketer Rachel Hayes said that win against islanders will provide momentum to the side for the rest of tournament.
“I’m sure there was a couple of nerves today, but I hope we showed today the character that has been there in the group. To be able to get over the line right at the end there will hopefully correct some of the momentum heading into the rest of the tournament,” ESPN Cricinfo quoted Hayes as saying.
Rachel Haynes and Meg Lanning’s knocks of 60 and 41 helped Australia defeat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the match.
Haynes and Lanning shared a much-needed partnership of 95 runs between them and powered the side to 125 runs.
The 33-year-old Hayes said the side was in a state of bother when she came to bat but the partnership between Lanning and her was great and took the side to a good position.
“It didn’t feel easy to bat out there, to be honest. I felt like I cloffed nearly every shot that I played today, perhaps with the exception of one. We knew, more than anything, that the partnership was really valuable. So it was nice to be able to come together and get us back in a position where we could attack,” she said.
Chasing 123, Australia got off to the worst start possible as the side lost its first three wickets with just ten runs on the board. Alyssa Healy (0), Beth Mooney (6) and Ashleigh Gardner (2) all failed to leave a mark.
However, Lanning and Haynes then retrieved the innings for the hosts as the duo put on a stand of 95 runs. In the end, Lanning and Ellyse Perry took Australia over the line by five wickets and with three balls to spare.
Earlier, a spirited bowling performance helped Australia restrict Sri Lanka to 122/6 in the allotted twenty overs.