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Megan Schutt equaled the highest wickets for a bowler in the Women’s T20 World Cup on Saturday as she helped Australia begin their title defense with a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka.
The pace bowler returned figures of 3-12 in the extreme Sharjah heat to move closer to former South African quick Shabnim Ismail on 43 wickets in the tournament.
Schutt’s effort kept Sri Lanka at 93-7, a total which the Australian batters overhauled with 34 balls to spare after losing four wickets.
Opener Beth Mooney, player of the tournament for the 2023 edition, reached an unbeaten 43 and took regular drinks breaks to beat the heat.
“In the heat, it was tough,” said Schutt, player of the match.
“I think Moons lost about 16 pounds there. I think we finally got acclimatized because I didn’t feel like I was going to die today. We’ve played in hot conditions before. It’s what it is, I have to suck it up and get on with it.”
Sri Lanka slumped to their second defeat of the tournament and are still looking for their first win against Australia in the women’s T20 matches.
The Sri Lankans opted to bat first, but got their first runs off the 16th ball before Schutt dismissed opener Vishmi Gunaratne for a duck.
– Disciplined attack –
The Sri Lankan batters struggled to score against a disciplined attack and Sophie Molineux got two wickets with her left-arm spin to further unsettle the opposition.
“We are struggling on these tracks with weak turns and bounce,” said Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu.
“Our first four batters struggled and it cost us. I hope we improve in our next match (against India on Wednesday) and our girls perform well in Dubai.”
Schutt took two wickets from two balls in the final to reach 43 wickets in 25 matches in the tournament before Inoshi Priyadharshani avoided the hat-trick.
South Africa’s Ismail took 43 wickets in 32 T20 matches before her retirement last year.
Sri Lanka detracted from Australia’s response with key wickets, notably when Udeshika Prabodhani bowled skipper Alyssa Healy for four runs in the first over.
Kavisha Dilhari’s straight delivery from the covers allowed Georgia Wareham to run out for three and six-time winners Australia briefly looked in trouble at 35-3 when Sugandika Kumari bowled Ellyse Perry for 17.
Left-hander Mooney drove in 43 runs with Ashleigh Gardner, who dropped for 12, and Phoebe Litchfield driving in nine with no outs.
Australia remain favorites for their seventh title in the tournament – their first appearance since the retirement of four-time captain Meg Lanning.
fk/ch
