Finch hits ton to power Australia to 334-7 against Sri Lanka
London, Jun 15: Leading from the front, skipper Aaron Finch stroked his way to a majestic 153, propelling Australia to a challenging 334 for seven against Sri Lanka in their World Cup fixture, here Saturday.
Finch forged two crucial partnerships -- 80 with his opening partner David Warner (26) and 173 with Steve Smith (73 off 59) for the third wicket in his 132-ball knock which is his 14th ODI hundred.
He punished the Lankan bowlers with 15 fours and five sixes, two of them gigantic.
Glenn Maxwell provided the late charge with an unbeaten 25-ball 46 but Sri Lanka tied things a bit in the end.
While Warner found the going tough early on, Finch played some exquisite shots to keep the runs flowing.
Back in the team after missing the Bangladesh game due to an injury, Nuwan Pradeep was hit for two fours by Finch.
The Australia skipper then blasted Lasith Malinga for a couple of fours in the seventh over before welcoming Thisara Perera with successive boundaries as Australia scored 53 in the first powerplay.
In the 17th over, Dhananjaya de Silva cleaned up Warner when he tried to make room for himself to play a cut shot.
Finch and Usman Khawaja (10) took Australia to hundred in 23rd over but the left-handed batsman perished soon after his sweep shot was caught by Isuru Udana at deep midwicket.
Smith then joined hands with Finch, who exploded in the 29th over, smashing de Silva out of the park twice besides a boundary to amass 20 runs off the over.
Smith too dealt in boundaries as the duo brought up the 200 in 35.3 overs.
The former skipper completed his fifty in 46 balls, while Finch smashed Perera over deep square for his fifth six of the innings.
Finch and Smith carted Perera for 18 runs in the 41st over with each smashing a couple of fours. Smith then deposited Malinga over deep mid-wicket in the next over.
Udana finally broke the partnership when he had Finch caught at cover by Karunaratne off a slower delivery as Australia slipped to 273 for 3 in 42.4 overs.
Malinga then dismissed Smith with a cracking yorker in the next over, while Udana showed great athleticism to run out Alex Carey and Pat Cummins to stem the run flow.
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We'll work with truth, non-violence to remove Modi-RSS govt: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said his party stands with "satya (truth)" and vowed to remove the "Narendra Modi-RSS government".
Addressing the party's 'Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod' rally at the Ramlila Maidan here, he launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission and mentioned the names of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to allege that they were working for the BJP.
"We will stand with 'satya' (truth) and will remove the Narendra Modi-RSS government from power. They have 'satta' (power), and they indulge in 'vote chori'," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
Gandhi claimed that the BJP transferred Rs 10,000 during elections, but the poll panel did not take any action against them. "In this fight between truth and untruth, the Election Commission is working with the BJP government," he said.
"(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi brought a new law to give immunity to EC; we will change this law retroactively and act against election commissioners," Gandhi said.
Asserting that it may take time, but truth will ultimately win, he said, "We'll work with truth and non-violence to defeat Modi and (Amit) Shah."
VIDEO | Delhi: Addressing the party’s ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhor’ rally at Ramlila Maidan, Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, “PM Modi brought a new law to give immunity to EC; we will change that and act against Election Commissioners.”
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 14, 2025
(Full video available on PTI… pic.twitter.com/CpYfEdwjF2
