Nissanka’s unbeaten 100 advances Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup and blows away Australia

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Pathum Nissanka's unbeaten 100 on Monday powered Sri Lanka into the Twenty20 World Cup Super 8s and left former champion Australia's prospects hanging by a thread.

Sri Lanka beat Australia by eight wickets with two overs to spare. Pavan Rathnayake hit the winning runs one delivery after Nissanka reached his century off 52 balls and was greeted by massive cheers in Pallekele International Stadium.

The third win from three matches ensured Sri Lanka advanced to the second round, two years after failing to do so for the first time at the T20 World Cup in the United States and Caribbean.

A struggling Australia lineup could be knocked out in the group stage for the first time since 2009 if unbeaten Zimbabwe beats Ireland on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, England also reached the Super 8s after a surviving a scare from Italy in Kolkata. England rallied from 105-5 to post 202-7. Italy was cut short on 178.

In New Delhi, Afghanistan shrugged off back-to-back losses with a five-wicket win over the UAE. That secured South Africa a spot in the Super 8s.

Despite the short boundaries, Australia was all out for 181 and Sri Lanka chased it down in style at 184-2.

Kusal Mendis joined Nissanka at 8-1 and was the main aggressor in their 97-run stand. Mendis hit his third half-century of the tournament, then was out for 51 in the 13th over.

Nissanka finished the match with Rathnayake, scoring 51 of the last 79 runs. He achieved his second T20 century and the second for Sri Lanka in men's T20 World Cup history after bashing five sixes and 10 boundaries. Rathnayake was 28 not out.

The Australians started the match impressively. Captain Mitch Marsh, making his first tournament appearance after a groin injury, and Travis Head opened with 104 runs off 51 deliveries. Head was 56 off 29 with three sixes and seven boundaries when he was caught at long-off.

Cameron Green was stumped by Kusal Mendis on 3 and Marsh went in the next over, lbw to Dushan Hemantha, who took 3-37.

Fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana injured his calf after only four deliveries and hobbled off the field to undergo scans.

Australia was 151-4 after 15 overs but then lost six wickets for 30 runs, with fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera claiming 3-36.

“One of the best performances in the recent past,” Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said. “We were still positive after losing Pathirana. We had that confidence and knew about the wicket. Everyone wanted to contribute somehow: Chameera, Theekshana, Hemantha."

England, defending 202, was threatened as Italy No. 6 batter Grant Stewart hit 45 off 23.

But Sam Curran (3-22) and Jamie Overton (3-18) held their nerve in the last two overs and Italy succumbed for 178.

Ben Manenti smashed a swashbuckling 25-ball 60 with six sixes, reviving Italy from 22-3 with Justin Mosca. Then Manenti and Mosca fell within three overs of each other.

Bowling allrounder Stewart took up the challenge. He and Jaspreet Singh took 21 runs in the 18th over off Adil Rashid and England was nervous. But when Stewart skewed Curran to short third in the 19th over Italy was done.

England was also in deep trouble earlier at 105-5 in the 13th over with the Italians sharing the wickets around.

Will Jacks salvaged the England innings when he thumped 53 not out off 22 balls including four sixes. His and England's relief was palpable afterwards.

"The most important thing is we've qualified but we need to be better, simple as that,” Jacks said.

Afghanistan still had only a slim chance of advancing from Group D after its first win at the expense of UAE. The victory secured South Africa a spot in the Super 8s and New Zealand had a chance to secure the other group spot if it beats Canada on Tuesday.

UAE was restricted to 160-9 with Azmatullah Omarzai taking 4-15 in four overs.

Omarzai hit an unbeaten 40 and Ibrahim Zadran cracked 53 off 41 for Afghanistan to reach 162-5 with four balls to spare. Afghanistan lost its previous match in a double tiebreaker requiring two Super Overs against South Africa.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi congratulate teammate Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai after wining against United Arab Emirates during the T20 World Cup cricket match in New Delhi, India, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/ Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka celebrates his century during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/ Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka celebrates his century during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/ Eranga Jayawardena)

Italy's Crishan Kalugamage, second from left, celebrates with teammates the wicket of England's Sam Curran during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and Italy in Kolkata, India, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

Italy's Crishan Kalugamage, second from left, celebrates with teammates the wicket of England's Sam Curran during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and Italy in Kolkata, India, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

England's Sam Curran celebrates the wicket of Italy's Grant Stewart during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and Italy in Kolkata, India, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

England's Sam Curran, second from left, celebrates with teammates the wicket of Italy's Grant Stewart during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and Italy in Kolkata, India, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

England's Sam Curran hits a six during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and Italy in Kolkata, India, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

Afghanistan's captain Rashid Khan, centre, watches United Arab Emirates' Sohaib Khan after bowls a delivery during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and United Arab Emirates in New Delhi, India, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Rob Sand rallied a crowd for the first time as the official Democratic nominee for Iowa governor on Sunday, kicking off a countdown to November with the support of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

The race for governor between Sand and Republican Zach Lahn stands to be one of the most competitive in the country as Iowans face a state budget deficit, struggling agricultural economy and cancer crisis. Democrats are putting faith in him to blaze a trail in the state after struggling electorally in recent cycles, hoping his message of unity will resonate with their fellow Iowans.

A few hundred people in Des Moines roared, waved campaign signs and snapped photos as Sand took the stage, a state flag hanging behind him.

“You might think we have a big hill to climb. I've seen bigger,” Sand said. “We're building a coalition of — not red versus blue — but of the well-fed versus the fed-up.”

Sand, who was unopposed on the primary ballot, learned who his opponent would be after Tuesday’s primary settled an unpredictable five-way Republican contest.

The rally was the first one that Tracy Schloss has ever attended. A lifelong Democrat, Schloss said he doesn't like the state's direction after nearly a decade of total Republican control, saying the leaders have “lost sight of the common people.”

“It's time, you gotta step up or the country will still keep going the way it's going," said the 62-year-old retiree from Ankeny, a suburb of Des Moines.

Schloss said he thinks Sand is a “bright spot" who can get voters excited, and he's more optimistic than he's been in recent years that the election will be a success for Democrats.

Iowa has open races for both governor and U.S. senator for the first time since 1968, plus three battleground congressional races. National attention on the state has soared in recent months, drawing President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to Iowa.

Democrats still have a 200,000-person deficit in statewide voter registration, and they are outnumbered in every House district. Sand, along with Senate candidate Josh Turek, say they can win over independents and Republicans who are frustrated with party politics and a Republican trifecta in Washington and Des Moines that they blame for the state's challenges.

Turek will face U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who already has portrayed Turek as a liberal puppet for party leader Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Lahn has also rejected Sand's nonpartisan pitch.

“Rob Sand is not a moderate,” Lahn said in his victory speech Tuesday. “He’s a liberal career politician pretending to be someone he’s not.”

As he has during campaign events over the past year, Sand asked attendees to sing the first verse of “America the Beautiful.” And when he introduced himself, he talked about his upbringing hunting, fishing and going to church.

Even if Sand is elected governor in November, he will likely have to work with Republican majorities in the state House and Senate, which recently passed bills to restrict the executive’s power that outgoing Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law.

Sand said it's good to have balance rather than a political system centered around amassing power and punishing political enemies.

“We have found ourselves in this position because we have too many people who want us to only think about red or blue,” Sand said Sunday. “Red and blue are colors.”

Neither Sand nor Lahn use their party's traditional blue or red in campaign materials, opting instead for green. They both say they aren’t beholden to their party establishments and that Iowans want a new direction, though Lahn’s Republican Party has held a statehouse trifecta for nearly a decade.

Little known before his bid for governor, Lahn made a splash as a business owner criticizing farm consolidation and tax breaks for corporate giants, a regenerative farmer who subscribes to Robert F. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement and a former political operative who galvanized Iowa’s conservative grassroots.

Sand’s campaign has given about $750,000 to the Iowa Democratic Party already this cycle, funding that Republicans call hypocritical for a candidate who claims he is not a party man. The Sand campaign says that sum reflects his investment in a state party-run coordinated campaign that will help him get elected as governor, even as it also supports candidates up and down the ballot.

“Rob Sand loves to talk about rising above the ‘two-party system’ — right up until it’s time to campaign, cash checks, and share the stage with Democrat Party insiders," Iowa Republican spokeswoman Jade Cichy said in a statement Sunday.

Beshear, chair of the Democratic Governors Association and a potential presidential candidate in 2028, told a cheering crowd Sunday that he's “all in” for electing Sand.

As Democrats continue to debate what went wrong in 2024 and the direction of the party, Beshear has offered up his own example as the leader of a red state for lessons on how the party can go forward.

“I am living, breathing proof that Democrats can win anywhere, and we should be fighting everywhere,” Beshear told the crowd Sunday.

In addition to rallying with Sand, Beshear also attended a “Beers with Beshear” fundraiser for congressional candidate Sarah Trone Garriott, who wants to unseat Republican Rep. Zach Nunn in the competitive House district that includes Des Moines. Beshear told The Associated Press that he would see Turek, too.

The Democratic Governors Association, which Beshear chairs, gave the Iowa Democratic Party about $140,000 so far this cycle, according to filing reports.

Iowa democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand speaks to media after voting on primary Election Day, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave)