Pathum Nissanka had targeted to hit hundred in T20 WC
What's the story
Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka scored the first century of the 2026 T20 World Cup, leading his team to an impressive eight-wicket win over Australia. The match was played at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Monday. With this defeat, Australia is on the verge of elimination from the group stage. If Zimbabwe beats Ireland on Tuesday, the 2021 champions will be knocked out. Meanwhile, Nissanka after the game stated thate he had targeted to hit a hundred in the tourney.
Match strategy
We planned to bat well in powerplay: Nissanka
After losing opener Kusal Perera (1) cheaply, Nissanka and Kusal Mendis (51) planned to have a strong powerplay. "He (Mendis) got a good start and that made things easier for me," said Nissanka after the match. "We thought that there would be some dew, so the plan was to bat normally until that arrived." Despite dew not playing much of a role, Nissanka scored 50 runs in his last 20 balls to return unbeaten on 100 of 52 balls.
Statement
Had a big target to hit a 100, said Nissanka
"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. "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."
Milestone achievement
Historic 1st T20 World Cup century against Australia
Nissanka's century was a historic first in T20 World Cup history, making him the first batter to score a hundred against Australia. The previous best was Pakistan's Umar Akmal with 94 runs. This match also marked Sri Lanka's highest successful run chase in T20 World Cups (182 runs) and the highest chase by any team against Australia in this competition.
Record tie
Other records broken by Nissanka's century
The match also marked the first time Sri Lanka had scored over 180 runs in a T20I against any team other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. Nissanka's score of 100 now ties him with former captain Mahela Jayawardene for the highest score by a Sri Lankan batter in T20 World Cups. Jayawardene had scored his century against Zimbabwe in 2010.