Australia edge Lanka, enter quarters
Sydney, March 8: Glenn Maxwell's brutal assault proved to the difference between the two sides as hosts Australia defeated Sri Lanka by 64 runs -- despite a spirited chase led by Kumar Sangakkara -- to become the third team to qualify for the World Cup quarter-finals at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here on Sunday.
Maxwell's blitzkrieg 53-ball 102, his maiden One-Day International (ODI) century, the fastest by an Australian in ODIs and the second fastest ton of World Cups, guided the hosts to racking up an imposing 376/9 in 50 overs in the Pool A match.
Chasing the mammoth total, the islanders were incredibly in contention with wicketkeeper-batsman Sangakkara (104) scoring his 23rd ODI century. In the process, the left-hander became the first individual to hit three centuries on the trot in World Cups, the highest scorer of the current tournament with 372, and the second individual after Sachin Tendulkar to go past 14,000 ODI runs.
Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 312 in 46.2 overs.
New Zealand and India are the other teams who have qualified for the quarters.