Australia overcame an early scare and then a last minute hick-up but, posted an easy five wicket win over Sri Lanka to take the series 3-1 in the fourth one-day international at the Premadasa Stadium, yesterday.
In paceman Lasith Malinga’s third over the slinger sent back the dangerous Shane Watson for 12 and four balls later had Ponting caught by new comer Prasanna brilliantly for a duck signaling another dramatic game for a while. The surviving opener Shaun Marsh who was recalled for this game along with his skipper Michael Clarke braved the storm and rowed the Kangaroos home safely with a 97 run stand for the third wicket.
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| Australian top scorer Shaun Marsh who scored 70 drives one to the covers. |
Then at the score of 123 for 2 the drama began yet again. This time the man responsible was young Seekuge Prasanna who was making his international debut.
Opener Shaun Marsh who earlier survived a sharp chance in the slips off Mendis top scored with 70 and became leg spinner Seekuge Prasanna’s first international victim. Marsh hit a six and eleven fours in 80 balls.
In the very next ball Prasanna tasted success again the wicket of Michael Hussey in the same manner. Prasanna struck again two balls later by hitting the wicket of David Hussey to capture three wickets in one over and make his international debut a memorable one.
However at the end Australia reached home at 133 for 5 with Michael Clarke remaining unbeaten on 38 made in 60 balls.
The Lankans trying to emulate the success of Australian left arm spinner Xavier Doherty’s success opened the bowling with Ajantha Mendis from one end and Dilshan coming into bowl the third over, but the ploy failed as the Lankan score lacked any real meat in it to keep guarding.
By the time the score reached 120 for 2 even the grand stands were empty.Earlier, Lankan selectors paid heavily for the folly of picking out of form Chamara Silva as the Lankans looking for their second win in the five match series faced a middle order collapse and looked to surrender the series meekly. For some unforeseen reason the selectors kept their faith in out of form Silva for the umpteenth occasion and once again the right hander failed them miserably by facing only two balls before falling leg before to Doherty for a duck, thus initiating a middle order collapse.
Sri Lanka at one stage were 95 for 2, but Doherty’s double wicket over saw them collapsing for 132 – to a very inept display of batting.
After the departure of Silva the rest of the batsmen just were out of their depth against the Australian attack.
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| Seekuge Prasanna
celebrates the dismissal of Shaun Marsh. |
The only redeeming factor in the Lankan order was the fighting 53 runs made by former skipper Mahela Jayewardene in 104 balls with four fours.
The left arm spinner who is not a part of Australia Test squad bowled best to capture 4 for 28 in his ten overs.
Besides Doherty, paceman Bret Lee also had a field day bagging 4 for 15 off just 6.4 overs just to show the Australian superiority over the Lankan batsmen.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat with right leg spinner Seekuge Prasanna making his debut.
Unlike in the previous game at Hambantota where the Lankan openers T.M. Dilshan and Upul Tharanga shared a good century stand while subduing a tricky wicket, this time they succumbed to the Aussie pressure.
As expected the bowling was hostile with new ball men Brett Lee and Doug Bollinger mixing up their deliveries cleverly. The first Lankan boundary came off the bat of Tharanga who had a lucky inside edge passing the stumps and the keeper Haddin for four in Bollinger’s first over.
At the other end Dilshan who hit Bollinger for two boundaries in one over fell victim to the same bowler while chasing a rising ball outside his off stump to be held behind. The first wicket fell in the 5th over.
Former skipper Kumar Sangakkara who replaced Dilshan was also greeted with a bouncer that ricocheted off his helmet to the fence.
The very first ball of the next over by Bret Lee saw last game’s centurion Tharanga’s stumps rearranged for eight. Sri Lanka had slumped to 2 for 24 in the 7th over.
However the next in Mahela Jayewardene camped in with Sangakkara for the next session where a third wicket stand took shape. The two experienced batsmen matched shot to shot and seemingly tamed the Australian attack to post a 71 run stand for the 3rd wicket.
Ironically in left armer Xavier Doherty’s 5th over Sangakkara paid the price for indiscretion when he lofted the spinner into the waiting hands of Bret Lee down in the long-on boundary. Sangakkara made 31 in 56 balls with a single hit to the fence. |
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