Sri Lanka maintained their blistering ODI form with a commanding 174-run victory over Australia in the second match of their two-game series on Friday (February 14) at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. This emphatic win secured a 2-0 series sweep over the reigning world champions.
The Charith Asalanka-led side dominated Australia in both matches, excelling in all three departments after securing a 49-run win in the first ODI. With this triumph, Sri Lanka has now won each of their last seven bilateral ODI series at home.
This marks their fourth consecutive series victory. Since the start of 2024, the 1996 world champions have been in exceptional form, winning 15 of the 23 ODIs they’ve played while losing only five. Their impressive run includes 2-0 series sweeps over both 2023 World Cup finalists, India and Australia.
Why Sri Lanka Are Not Playing the ICC Champions Trophy
Despite being the most in-form team in world cricket, Sri Lanka will not feature in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. Since the start of 2024, no team has won more matches than Sri Lanka, who boast the best win/loss ratio (3.000). However, their recent dominance holds no weight in the qualification process.
The qualification period for the 2025 Champions Trophy ended in 2023, with the league stage of the 2023 Cricket World Cup determining the eight participating teams. Since Sri Lanka failed to finish in the top eight, they missed out on a spot in the prestigious tournament, which is set to be hosted by Pakistan and the UAE from February 19 to March 9, 2025.
Sri Lanka narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy due to Net Run Rate (NRR). The battle for the final spot was tightly contested, with the eighth, ninth, and tenth-placed teams all finishing on four points. However, Bangladesh (-1.087 NRR) secured the last qualification berth, while Sri Lanka (-1.419 NRR) finished ninth, and the Netherlands (-1.825 NRR) ended up 10th, taking the wooden spoon.
Meanwhile, the West Indies—winners of the 2004 edition—failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup and had no pathway to the Champions Trophy. The eight teams competing in the 2025 tournament are Australia, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, England, and Bangladesh.
source:TimesNow
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