Match-winner Rachael Haynes hails Australia character after win over Sri Lanka: "Hopefully it settles our group down"

The four-time T20 World Cup champions produced another nervy display but were able to register their first win of the competition in Perth

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Australia's Rachael Haynes believes the reigning champions have proved they possess plenty of mental fortitude after belatedly kick-starting their T20 World Cup defence with a nervy victory over Sri Lanka.

Set 123 to win, the tournament hosts were reduced to 10 for 3 in the fourth over and looked to be staring down the barrel of a second straight defeat having been stunned by India on the opening day of the competition.

But Haynes (60) and captain Meg Lanning (41 not out) steadied the ship with a 95-run stand for the fourth wicket before victory was eventually secured with three balls remaining.

The four-time world champions remain the favourites to retain their title and Haynes says the win was evidence the squad have the resilience to succeed.

"I hope today showed our character, to be honest," she told the media. "World Cup tournaments aren't easy, and playing at home, we're enjoying the opportunity to do it. 

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"You can't escape the fact it's different from a normal series where perhaps you can drop a game here or there and get back in the contest, whereas World Cup cricket, you have to keep winning. That's the nature of the beast.

"Sure, there's a couple of nerves today, but I hope today showed the character that's in the group, and to be able to get over the line right at the end there, I think it's going to hopefully create some wonderful momentum heading into rest of the tournament.

Haynes, whose Australia side complete their group campaign against Bangladesh and New Zealand, added: "I think hopefully it settles our group down a little bit. Obviously, the other day didn't go as planned, but as I said that's the nature of tournament cricket. 

"You don't always have it your own way. We knew we were going to get challenged at different times. Playing T20 cricket you're riding this wave of emotion and momentum too. We had that at different stages within the game today, and we had to fight to it to get back to batting innings."