WATCH: 'Unsold' Kane Richardson Breaks KKR Recruit Karunaratne's Bat

Cricket Image for WATCH: 'Unsold' Kane Richardson Breaks KKR Recruit Karunaratne's Bat (Image Source: Google)

Australia vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I: The 3rd T20I of the 5-match series between Australia and Sri Lanka concluded on Tuesday (February 15th). The Aussies were victorious yet against as they defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets, building an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. However, a notable incident from this match was a batter was forced to change his broken bat after facing just 3 deliveries. 

In the 17th over of the innings, Kane Richardson knocked over Chandimal on the very first delivery. Chamika Karunaratne came out to bat and played the next two deliveries without scoring any run. On the 4th ball of the over, Richardson bowled a 136 KMPH ball on short of length on the middle stump. 

Chamika Karunratne stayed back in his crease and pulled the ball towards mid-wicket. However, the timing was poor on Karunaratne's part. Due to this, Karunaratne's bat was damaged, and he had to replace his bat after playing just 3 deliveries. 

It is noteworthy that Kane Richardson, who was also the highest wicket-taker for the Aussies in this match, remained unsold in the recently concluded IPL 2022 Auction. While on the other hand, Chamika Karunaratne was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders at his base price of Rs 50 lakhs. 

Broken bat! #AUSvSL pic.twitter.com/IcRxTO4FkX

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 15, 2022

While talking about the match, after opting to bowl first, Australia restricted Sri Lanka to 121/6 in 20 overs, courtesy of Kane Richardson's 3/21 in 4 overs. Captain Dasun Shanaka remained the top scorer for Sri Lanka with his unbeaten knock of 39 runs in 38 balls. In reply, after losing in-form opener Ben McDermott on the very first ball, Australian batting didn't display any hint of impatience as they chased down the target in 16.5 overs, with 6 wickets in hand.

Australia have already built an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the 5-match series with two matches to go.