"The absence of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Glenn Maxwell" - X erupts after Sri Lanka stun Australia with 49-run win in first ODI

Sri Lanka beat Australia by 49 runs in the first ODI of the ongoing two-match series between the two teams at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday, February 12.

Batting first, the hosts put up a decent total of 214 on the board. In response, Australia folded in spectacular fashion and were all out for 165 in 33.5 overs.

Naturally, cricket lovers had a field day over this David vs Goliath story, and their enthusiasm was seen on the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter). Many fans shared their views on Lanka's victory.

"The absence of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Glenn Maxwell, and recent withdrawal of Mitchell Starc has got to do with Australia’s 49 run loss to Sri Lanka," wrote a fan.

You can see the tweet here:

Here are some of the other tweets made on the stunning result:

"Sri Lanka have become a very good ODI side - they have now won 8 out of their last 11 ODIs!!" wrote another.

"*Mainly 5 top players out *Openers are blind sloggers *Smith - Labuschagne awful whiteball form *Inexperienced bowling attack *Failing to tackle quality spin attack *Decline in ODI interest overall Summary of Aussie Odi setup for #ChampionsTrophy2025 #SLvsAUS @CricketAus," wrote another fan.

"Eshan Malinga's 26 ball 1 run, the resistance says it all, end of the day, #SriLanka bundle aussies for 165 with having just 214 on board! #SLvsAUS," tweeted a supporter.

However, there was a lone voice of support for the Aussies among the din:

"Aussies play better in tournaments after they've lost a few," wrote a supporter.

Australia are missing several key players due to injury

Despite not having qualified for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy as they were not among the top eight teams at the 2023 ODI World Cup, Sri Lanka defeated the world champions Australia in the first ODI of the series.

This victory will give the Lankans a lot of confidence as they look to build a core for the 2027 ODI World Cup, slated to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Australia, who are reeling from the loss of several key players such as Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh due to injury, have to recover quickly before the next ODI, scheduled for Friday, February 14.

Steve Smith's men will then fly to Pakistan to play arch-rivals England in their opening Champions Trophy fixture on February 22 in Lahore. The Kangaroos, despite their injury concerns, are among the favourites to win this tournament.