Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka leaves Australia on brink of T20 World Cup exit

Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka celebrates after scoring a century during their 2026 ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup group stage match against Australia at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Monday. Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka scored the first century of the2026 T20 World Cupon Monday to put his side into the Super Eights and leaveAustraliaon the brink of elimination. Nissanka scored 100 not out off 52 balls with five sixes and 10 fours as Sri Lanka, chasing Australia’s 181, reached 184-2 with two overs to spare in Kandy to win by eight wickets.

A victory by Zimbabwe over Ireland in Group B on Tuesday, or against Sri Lanka on Thursday, would eliminate the 2021 champions. If Zimbabwe lose both, Australia will need to beat Oman in their final match on Friday by a big margin to get through on net run rate. Nissanka was involved in a 97-run stand off 66 balls with Kusal Mendis for the second wicket with the wicketkeeper-batsman posting his third fifty in the competition.

Nissanka became the first Sri Lankan to score two hundreds in T20 internationals. After Mendis’s dismissal, Nissanka and Pavan Rathnayake put on 76 off 34 balls to see Sri Lanka to victory. Nissanka played some glorious cover drives off the spinners and played some elegant flicks against the quicks.

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Sri Lanka came into the World Cup after a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of England, but have gained momentum and have won all three games so far. Their captain Mitchell Marsh, who missed the first two games, returned and gave them a rollicking start by scoring 54.

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