Cricket news - Rachael Haynes gets maiden ton as Australia bag 2-0 lead

Rachael Haynes struck her maiden ODI century - in her 56th game - as Australia Women bagged a 2-0 lead over Sri Lanka in Brisbane with a 110-run victory on Monday (October 7). The hosts also picked up their 16th win in the ICC Women's Championship - in 17 games - to consolidate their position at the top of the table. Haynes struck 118 as Australia posted 282 for 8 after opting to bat.

Alyssa Healy and Haynes vindicated Meg Lanning's decision to bat first as they scored 116 inside 20 overs before the former was dismissed. Healy fell for 69 off 62 to Shashikala Siriwardene but there was no respite for the visitors. The Australia captain then collaborated with Haynes to stitch a 103-run stand for the second wicket to set the stage for a late onslaught.

There was, however, a slump from there on as Lanning fell in the 40th over. Only Beth Mooney managed to get a double-digit score after the top-order dominance as Achini Kulasuriya bagged three while Sugandika Kumari and Siriwardene got two each.

In the chase, Anushka Sanjeewani and Harshitha Madavi did well to recover from the early loss of Chamari Athapaththu with a 70-run stand. However, their slow progress backfired as the asking rate kept climbing up to put the middle order under pressure. As expected, the middle order crumbled and the target slipped out of reach.

Brief scores: Australia 282/8 in 50 overs (Rachael Haynes 118; Achini Kulasuriya 3-50) beat Sri Lanka 172/9 in 50 overs (Harshitha Madavi 39; Jess Jonassen 4-31) by 110 runs.