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Australia through to World Cup quarter-finals with win over Sri Lanka

Australia beat Pool A rivals Sri Lanka by 64 runs to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

Australia have sealed their place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a 64-run win over Pool A rivals Sri Lanka in Sydney.

The co-hosts posted an imperious score of 376-9 before bowling the Sri Lankans out for 312 with 23 balls remaining.

Shane Watson of Australia celebrates taking the wicket of Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup match between Australia and Sri Lanka at Sydney Cricket Ground on March 8, 2015© Getty Images

Glenn Maxwell's 102 off just 53 balls stole the show, while Steven Smith (72), captain Michael Clarke (68) and Shane Watson (67) also helped to put the Aussies out of reach.

Aaron Finch (24) and David Warner (9) had struggled at the top of the batting order before Australia recovered in impressive fashion.

Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera took two wickets each for Sri Lanka, who also had Angelo Mathews, Seekkuge Prasanna and Tillakaratne Dilshan end with wickets to their names.

The Sri Lankans run chase got off to a bad start as Lahiru Thirimanne was dismissed in the second over having made just a single, but Dilshan (62) and Kumar Sangakkara (104) got their side back on track with a dynamic partnership.

Despite their heroics with the bat, Mahela Jayawardene (19), Mathews (35) and Dinesh Chandimal (52) were the only other players to get beyond double figures for Sri Lanka before the lower order eventually crumbled.

James Faulkner finished with figures of 3-48 for the Aussies, while Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Watson also claimed important wickets.

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Glenn Maxwell plays a shot while on international duty with Australia on March 28, 2014.
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