London, June 16: Defending champions Australia are leading the World Cup 2019 points-table after their 87-run victory over Sri Lanka and skipper Aaron Finch feels his side is improving with each game and performing well in the middle overs. Finch, whose team has now four wins from five games and eight points in their kitty, starred with the bat against the Lankans on Saturday as his scintillating 153-run knock powered Australia to an impressive 334/7 before pacer Mitchell Starc also rose to the occasion, picking four wickets for just 55 runs.
Showering praise on the pacer, Finch said: "Starc-ey - As soon as he gets a sniff of a new batter, he's all over 'em. He is a world-class bowler and he is doing the business again in an ICC tournament." Hand Warmers Not Sandpaper! Aaron Finch Defends Adam Zampa After Indian Fans Accuse Spinner of Ball Tampering During IND vs AUS CWC 2019 Match.
"I thought we were a touch short with the new ball. You want to bowl top of off, but when we were getting hit we had to change our plan and we were a bit slow to do that and lost a bit of momentum. It was nice to see Maxwell bowl well. He had a big boundary to play with, here," he added. The Aussie skipper also said they have been improving with each game but still there are few areas where he wants to improve.
"We have been improving with each game. The way we dragged it in the middle overs was impressive," Finch opined adding: "We will have to assess the conditions and think about the best combination for the game. We have played some really good cricket in patches and there are some areas to improve, which is a real positive."
After putting a decent total, the Aussie bowlers also stepped up as Starc and Kane Richardson, who packed back three Lankan batsmen for 47 runs, helped Australia bundle out their opposition at 247, setting a comfortable victory for their side. While, Sri Lanka will next take on hosts England on June 21, Australia will be up against Bangladesh a day before.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 16, 2019 10:28 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).