T20 World Cup 2026 | 'Catch of the tournament and a ton': How Nissanka pushed Australia to exit door - WATCH
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "T20 World Cup 2026 | 'Catch of the tournament and a ton': How Nissanka pushed Australia to exit door - WATCH")
Nissanka's 'catch of tournament & ton' push AUS to exit Photograph: (AFP)
Before he scored a brilliant 52-ball unbeaten 100 in a chase of 182, Nissanka also plucked a blinding catch out of thin air - as a sign that it was his day and it was indeed. Sri Lanka bossed the chase of 182 in just 18 overs and qualified for the Super 8 from Group B.
Pathum Nissanka, the Sri Lanka batter who has put Australia on brink of elimination from T20 World Cup 2026, says the Aussies couldn't bowl well. That might be true but before he scored a brilliant 52-ball unbeaten 100 in a chase of 182, Nissanka also plucked a blinding catch out of thin air - as a sign that it was his day and it was indeed. Sri Lanka bossed the chase of 182 in just 18 overs on Monday (Feb 16) at Pallekele in Kandy and qualified for the Super 8 from Group B. Australia, on the other hand, are now hoping for 'luck of Irish' to come through for them.
Nissanka's catch restrict Australia to 181
Australia were 160/5 in 16 overs with Maxwell on the crease - in perfect position to take his team past 200 as he has done for so many years. Maxwell hit a reverse shot on the first ball of 17th over by Dushan Hemantha but Nissanka, at point, flung himself at the ball to catch it mid-air and chnaged the match. Watch the catch below:
While batting, Nissanka lost his part Kusal Perera in the second over only but then began the carnage. Nissanka added 97 runs with Kusal Mendis in just 11 overs then Mendis departed for his brilliant 38-ball 51 but Nissanka stayed. He stayed till the end and added required 75 runs (plus two extra) with Pavan Rathnayake (15-ball 28) in about six overs to see his team through. He finished at exact 100 off 52, hitting 10 fours and 5 sixes - a target of his. Have a look at the innings below:
Nissanka on his match winnings innings vs Australia
"After we lost the first wicket, Kusal and I just planned to have a good powerplay," Nissanka said after the match. "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."
"I had a big target to hit a 100 in this World Cup, so I'm happy I was able to do that," Nissanka said about the ton. "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," he added.
