Australia moved to the top of the World Cup group table as heroics from captain Aaron Finch and Mitchell Starc secured an 87-run win over Sri Lanka at The Oval on Sunday (NZ time).
After Finch hit the highest score in a World Cup by an Australian captain (153) to help his team to 334/7, Sri Lanka flew out of the blocks to be 88/0 after 10 overs in reply.
But attempting what would have been a World Cup record run-chase, Sri Lanka had the brakes applied to their innings through the middle before they were all out for 247.
Starc made the biggest dent with 4/55, clean bowling Kusal Perera (52 off 36) to claim Australia's first wicket with the score at 115 in the 16th over.
Kane Richardson (3/47) got the key wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne when he had him caught cutting at gully for 97 after the opener had got the Sri Lankans off to a flyer.
Pat Cummins (2/38) and Jason Behrendorff (1/59) also claimed wickets in the middle overs as Australia regained control of the match.
Starc then returned with the killer blow of three wickets across the 37th and 39th overs to end any real hopes of an upset before Richardson cleaned up the tail.
Starc bowled Milinda Siriwardana (3) with his customary full-pitched bowling, had Thisara Perera (7) caught and then got Sri Lanka's last hope Kusal Mendis caught behind for 30.
The left-armer is now the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, while his record in World Cups sits at 35 wickets at 13.51.
Glenn Maxwell also bowled a crucial 10 overs for just 46 runs, with the part-timer slowing down Sri Lanka's early run when he came on for the 11th over.
The win puts Australia one point clear on the top of the World Cup ladder, albeit after having played more games than most the teams below them.
The Aussies had earlier stamped their authority on the contest when Aaron Finch and Steve Smith combined for a 173-run third-wicket standoff just 124 balls.
Finch was dominant, with his 153 coming off 132 balls after he drove his first ball for four and never looked back with 14 more boundaries and five sixes.
Smith meanwhile was busy at the crease from the outset, rotating the strike constantly before attacking the boundaries later in his 73 off 59.
The pair both fell within an over of each other - with Finch skying a ball to cover and Smith bowled by a Lasith Malinga yorker - before a Maxwell cameo of 46no from 25 balls helped Australia pass 300.
AAP
