Cricket World Cup head-to-head: Australia have beaten Sri Lanka 7 times, only lost 1996 final

Bengaluru, May 29: The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is kicking off on May 30 at the Oval where hosts England will take on South Africa. On June 15, defending champions Australia will take on former champions Sri Lanka at the same ground.

Australia and Sri Lanka have played in 96 matches so far with the former having 60-32 lead while four matches were inconclusive. In their last five meetings, Australia won four times while the Lankans one.

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In the World Cup, the two islands have met nine times in the World Cup while on one occasion, they refused to travel to Sri Lanka owing to security reasons and forfeited their game. Overall, Australia have won seven of those nine games while Sri Lanka won just one which was the final of the 1996 edition.

One game was washed out in rain. Australia and Sri Lanka are the only two teams that have met in the final of the World Cup twice (1996 and 2007).

Here are the results of Australia-Sri Lanka encounters in previous World Cups:

Australia beat Sri Lanka by 52 runs; group match; The Oval; June 11, 1975:

Match Scorecard

Sri Lankan captain Anura Tennekoon won the toss and asked Australia to bat first. Opener Alan Turner scored 101 (it was the first hundred in a WC by an Australian) while Rick McCosker (73), Greg Chappell (50) and Doug Walters (59) scored fifties. The Kangaroos scored 328 for 5 in 60 overs with two Sri Lankan bowlers - Mevan Pieris and Somachandra de Silva -- taking two wickets each.

For Sri Lanka, opener Sunil Wettimuny (53) and Michael Tissera (52) scored a couple of fifties while Tennekoon scored 48 but they were not enough as the Lankans were restricted to 276 for 4 in 60 overs. Captain Ian Chappell took 2 for 14.

Australia beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets; league match; Adelaide Oval; March 7, 1992:

Match Scorecard

It was after 17 years that Australia met Sri Lanka in the World Cup again and Allan Border's side had an easy win. Border won the toss and elected to field and riding on a sole half-century from captain Aravinda de Silva (62), Sri Lanka managed 189 for 9 in 50 overs.

Peter Taylor took 2 for 34 while there were as many as four run-outs in the Lankan innings. Australian openers Tom Moody (57) and Geoff Marsh (60) gave them a solid start and the home side completed the formalities in 44 overs, losing just three wickets. Pacer Pramodya Wickramasinghe took 2 for 29. Moody was the man of the match.

Australia forfeit game to Sri Lanka; group match; Colombo; February 17, 1996:

Mark Taylor's Australia refused to travel to Colombo to play Sri Lanka in the group match for security reasons following a terror attack in the Sri Lankan capital. Arjuna Ranatunga's side got two points because of the walkover.

Sri Lanka beat Australia by 7 wickets; final; Lahore; March 17, 1996:

Match Scorecard

Ranatunga won the toss and sent Australia to bat the first time the two teams met in a World Cup final. Captain Taylor top scored with 74 while Ricky Ponting made 45. Michael Bevan's 36 not out off 49 balls saw the Kangaroos reaching a target of 241 for 7 in 50 overs. Aravinde de Silva was the pick of the bowler with 3 for 42.

Sri Lanka lost their two explosive openers early but de Silva made a magnificent 107 not out (third time a batsman scored a century in the final) while Asanka Gurusinha scored 65. Sri Lanka romped home in the 46th over losing just three wickets to win their only world title so far. De Silva was the man of the match.

Australia beat Sri Lanka by 96 runs; Super Six stage; Centurion; March 7, 2003:

Match Scorecard

Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat and it was all Australia from there. Ponting himself slammed 114 while opener Adam Gilchrist fell for 99. Damien Martyn chipped in with 52 and Australia made 319 for 5 in 50 overs. Dilhara Fernando took 3 for 47 runs.

During their chase, Lanka lost captain Jayasuriya who was retired hurt and were reeling at 4 for 48. De Silva scored a 92 but the valiant effort went in vain as Sri Lanka were all out for only 223 to lose by 96 runs. Speedster Brett Lee to 3 for 52. Ponting was the man of the match.

Australia beat Sri Lanka by 48 runs (Duckworth-Lewis); semi-final; Port Elizabeth; March 18, 2003:

Match Scorecard

Australia won the toss and elected to bat but on a difficult wicket, it was Andrew Symonds's 91 not out that helped them to go to a total of 212 for 7 wickets in 50 overs. Chaminda Vaas took 3 for 34. This game will be known for Adam Gilchrist's sportsman spirit of withdrawing after nicking the ball to the wicket-keeper, something even the umpire could not detect.

Sri Lankan chase fell apart from the very beginning and except Kumar Sangakkara's unbeaten 39, none could rise to the occasion. Because of rain interruption, Sri Lanka were supposed to score 172 after 38.1 overs but they could manage 123 for 7, losing by 48 runs. Lee took 3 for 35. Symonds was the man of the match.

Australia beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets; Super Eight stage; St George's; April 16, 2007:

Match Scorecard

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bat. But barring his own 72 and Chamara Silva's 64, no other batsmen could produce the will to thwart the Australian bowlers and from 167 for 3, the Lankans were all out for 226 in less than 50 overs. Left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken took 4 for 19.

A couple of unbeaten half-centuries from skipper Ricky Ponting (66) and Andrew Symonds (63) ensured that the reigning world champions won with 7 wickets to spare. Russel Arnold took 2 for 20. Bracken was the man of the match.

Australia beat Sri Lanka by 53 runs (D-L); final; Barbados; April 28, 2007:

Match Scorecard

Ponting won the toss and elected to bat and Gilchrist scored 149 in just 104 balls to power Australia to 281 for 4 in 38 overs in a rain-interrupted game. This remains the highest score ever in the final of a World Cup. Lasith Malinga took 2 for 49.

Sri Lanka's target was further revised to 269 in 36 overs and Jayasuriya's team did got for it with the former scoring 63 and Kumar Sangakkara hitting 54 but the task was too high for the rest of the batsmen and Sri Lanka slipped from 123 for 1 to 194 for 7 in the dark. Michael Clarke took 2 for 33 and Australia won their fourth World Cup title and second successive one under Ponting. Gilchrist was the man of the match.

Group match abandoned because of rain; Colombo; March 5, 2011:

Match Scorecard

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat but their innings could not go beyond 32.5 overs because of rain. The home team was 146 for 3 at the time with captain Kumar Sangakkara unbeaten on 73. The match was washed out with both teams sharing a point each.

Australia beat Sri Lanka by 64 runs; group match; Sydney; March 8, 2015:

Match Scorecard

This game was a complete run feast after Australian captain Michael Clarke won the toss and elected to bat. Glenn Maxwell belted 102 off 53 balls while Steve Smith hit 72 off 88 balls and captain Clarke 68 at run a ball. Australia ended up with 376 for 9 with Lasith Malinga's 2 for 59 being the best bowling performance of the Sri Lankan bowlers.

Sangakkara led the fightback with this third consecutive century of the tournament. He scored 104 off 107 balls while Tillakaratne Dilshan hit 62 and Dinesh Chandimal retiring hurt on 52. The lower order could not sustain the momentum and Sri Lanka went down fighting. They were bowled out for 312 in the 47th over and the game saw an accumulation of 688 runs in less than 100 overs. James Faulkner took 3 for 48. Maxwell was the man of the match.