Sri Lanka quietly confident ahead of Australian challenge, says Asalanka

Charith Asalanka had scores of 44, 6, 14 and 6 in his first four T20 internationals, and even during the two practice games in the lead-up to the World Cup – against Oman and Papua New Guinea – he returned scores of 5 and 8.

However, on Sunday, against Bangladesh, he played a career-defining knock, a superlative 80* to chase a record 171, to lead Sri Lanka to a convincing win, ahead of some of the key games in the Super 12 stage of the tournament.

With Sri Lanka today set to take on Australia, their toughest opponent since the start of the tournament, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the 24-year-old, who has a long international career ahead of him, is quietly confident his team is ready for battle.