‘IPL has changed my cricket’

Marcus Stoinis bludgeoned Australia's fastest T20 half-century on Tuesday as his side crushed Sri Lanka by seven wickets to secure their first win at the Twenty20 World Cup.

After being beaten by New Zealand in the opening match of the Super 12, Australia elected to field and restricted Sri Lanka to 157-6.

They had to make do without the services of leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who was ruled out at the 11th hour after testing positive for COVID-19.

The hosts replied with 158-3 in 16.3 overs, led by Stoinis who powerfully struck six sixes in his unbeaten 59 from 18 balls.

"It was good slogging," man-of-the-match Stoinis told reporters.

"I was actually quite nervous to be honest. The intention was to go and put an impact on the game and probably provide a bit of energy for the boys."

Stoinis' ability to dominate Sri Lanka's slow bowlers, their key weapons in limited-overs cricket, has been aided by his time in the Indian Premier League, which he credits for transforming his approach to facing spin.

"The IPL has changed my cricket and helped me evolve," he said.
"It's not only playing on the wickets – it's having the coaches from all over the world, having players from different countries.

"I've played for quite a few years in the IPL and quite a few teams so you come across a range of techniques and mentalities of how to play spin, so it has helped me improve for sure.

"I'm looking for two balls really. One off the front foot and one off the back foot to at least have an option to each … you then go from there. You try and get the field that you want.

"Which is sometimes why you play a lap or reverse or a sweep shot which I'm working on."