Australia knocked out by Sri Lanka on run rate

Group A Australia 186 for 9 (Beadle 36, Suraj 3-37) beat Sri Lanka 184 (Maharoof 56, Silva 46, Putland 3-16) by two runs
Scorecard

Even though Australia beat Sri Lanka by two runs in a thrilling finish at Rajshahi, it was not enough to take them through to the Super League.

Australia finished level on points with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, but an inferior net run rate meant that they ended up third in the group, and will now compete for the Plate Championship.

Another sell-out crowd was treated to a fascinating game that was only decided when Manoj Chanaka was caught off the first ball of the final over with Sri Lanka two runs short. However, in the grand scheme of things, that was meaningless, as after being put into bat and scoring 186 for 9 , Australia needed to restrict Sri Lanka to less than 98 to qualify.

At one point, it looked like they were going to do it. Sri Lanka's top four were all back in the pavilion with only 10 runs on the board as Gary Putland took three of these early wickets.

However, Farveez Maharoof joined Kaushal Silva came together for Sri Lanka to steady things down and put them back on track. Scoring at little more than three an over, the pair carried Sri Lanka to safety.

After the game, Maharoof, who was named man of the match, said, "It is very difficult to win if the top order don't score any runs but I am pleased to have scored some runs and I hope we can play much better as a team in the Super League."

Meanwhile, Bennett King, Australia's coach, praised his team for their attitude."If our boys had performed the way they did today in the match against Zimbabwe then we would be going to Dhaka tomorrow," he said. "But instead we are heading to Chittagong to play in the Plate."