Stoinis' 'predator mindset' could light World Cup spark

With his batting approach likened to a predator stalking its prey, Marcus Stoinis hopes his explosion of passion can be the shot in the arm Australia need to spark their T20 World Cup campaign.

An inspired Stoinis overcame pre-game jitters prompted by playing in front of his hometown Perth crowd to blast Australia's fastest ever T20I half-century with an avalanche of sixes against Sri Lanka.

The allrounder singlehandedly turned a tricky chase on a seaming surface into a comfortable, net-run-rate-boosting victory that has set up a mouth-watering MCG contest with Ashes rivals England on Friday evening.

But even more than the six huge sixes he plundered in a whirlwind knock, it was Stoinis' raw emotion, possessing a primal glint in his eyes as he fist-pumped after clearing the fence, that fired up a group whose campaign started off on the wrong foot when they suffered a record defeat to New Zealand.

"It was gun," Ashton Agar said of Stoinis' 18-ball 59 not out. "The boys were going bananas on the bench when he was doing stuff like that … fist pumping.

"He brings so much of that energy and life to this dressing room and the boys just rally around that.

"That's given us a huge lift for sure. I'm not surprised that he did something like that, I've seen the work he's put in before this World Cup, I've been training with him a lot.

"It's this animal, predator mindset – he's out to go and get them and that's exactly what he did."

The Aussies had seen their target grow to 158 after coughing up 46 from their final four overs with the ball, including a 20-run final over from Pat Cummins that ended with an Aaron Finch misfield that went for four, leaving the skipper pounding the turf in anger.

That frustration was compounded during an innings Finch later described as "unusual" and "poor", with his struggles to find the middle of his bat seeing the required run-rate swell to nine-an-over when Glenn Maxwell was dismissed.

Watch Australia v Sri Lanka full replay on Kayo Sports

But Stoinis turned the tables, fearlessly going after Sri Lanka's spinners after getting his eye in with a flurry of boundaries off their quicks.

He helped cart Wanindu Hasaranga for 19 off an over before ruining Maheesh Theekshanna's previously immaculate figures of 1-3 off two overs by carting 20 off his third including three sixes.

"I was actually quite nervous to be honest," said Stoinis. "The intention was to go put an impact on the game, and probably provide a bit of energy for the boys and try and get a spark going.

"We didn't start the way we wanted this World Cup campaign to start and being in your home country that's not how we wanted to start and how we want to play.

"It's only one game. It's nice to be on the board. It's going to be a big game on Friday at the MCG."

Stoinis' ability to dominate Sri Lanka's slow bowlers, their key weapons in limited-overs cricket, has been aided by his time in the Indian Premier League, which he credits for transforming his approach to facing spin.

"The IPL has changed my cricket and helped me evolve," he said.

"It's not only playing on the wickets – it's having the coaches from all over the world, having players from different countries.

"I've played for quite a few years in the IPL and quite a few teams so you come across a range of techniques and mentalities of how to play spin, so it has helped me improve for sure.

"I'm looking for two balls really. One off the front foot and one off the back foot to at least have an option to each … you then go from there. You try and get the field that you want.

"Which is sometimes why you play a lap or reverse or a sweep shot which I'm working on."

Men's T20 World Cup 2022

Australia squad: Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Australia's fixtures

Oct 22: Lost to New Zealand by 89 runs

Oct 25: Beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets

Oct 28: v England, MCG, 7pm AEDT

Oct 31: v Ireland, Gabba, 7pm AEDT

Nov 4: v Afghanistan, Adelaide Oval, 7pm AEDT

Click here for the full 2022 T20 World Cup fixture