Putham Nissanka Century: T20 World Cup 2026 has now reached an exciting turn and the first century has been seen in the tournament even before the Super 8 stage. Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka not only scored a century while batting brilliantly against Australia, but also played an important role in helping his team qualify for the Super 8. The match was played on Monday 16 February at Pallekele International Stadium, where Nissanka’s innings became the center of discussion.

Scored a century in 52 balls

Pathum Nissanka batted aggressively in this match and scored a century in 52 balls. During his brilliant innings, he hit 10 fours and 5 sixes. His strike rate was 192.31, which shows his aggressive batting. Nissanka maintained pressure on the bowlers from the beginning and brought the match under Sri Lanka’s control.

Pathum Nissanka made record

With this century, Pathum Nissanka also made a big record in his name. He has become the first batsman to score a century against Australia in the history of T20 World Cup. Before this, no player had scored three points against this team in the World Cup. This achievement made his innings even more special and he is being praised a lot among cricket fans.

Australia’s fast start, but middle order remains weak

Batting first in the match, Australia scored 181 runs. The team got a great start by openers Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh. Head scored 56 runs in 29 balls, while Marsh played a quickfire innings of 54 runs in 27 balls. There was an excellent partnership between the two, due to which the team reached a strong position. However, after this Australia’s innings faltered and the middle order could not succeed in playing big innings. Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell played short but useful innings, but the team could not reach the 200-run mark.

read this alsoPathum Nissanka scored a historic century, Sri Lanka entered the Super-8 by defeating Australia by 8 wickets.

Mendis’s support and Sri Lanka’s easy victory

Chasing the target of 182 runs, Sri Lanka did not have a good start and Kushal Perera was out early. After this, Kushal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka took over the innings and put the team in a strong position. Mendis scored 51 runs in 38 balls, while in the end Pawan Ratnayake finished the match by playing a useful inning of 28 runs. Sri Lanka achieved this target in 18 overs and registered a spectacular victory. With this victory, the team confirmed its place for the Super 8 and strengthened its claim in the tournament.