Aussies edge out Sri Lanka In tense finish
BAILEY STARS TO HELP SIDE TAKE 2-1 LEAD IN FIVE-MATCH SERIES
eorge Bailey hit 70 and shared two crucial partnerships to help Australia beat Sri Lanka by two wickets in their third Oneday International yesterday and take a 2-1 lead in the fivematch series.
Sri Lanka batted after winning the toss and was bowled out for 226 in the final over. Dinesh Chandimal hit his fourth one-day century and held the Sri Lanka innings together amid a flurry of wickets.
Australia faced some early setbacks in the run chase, losing three wickets for 44 runs.
But Bailey shared 62 for the fourth wicket with Travis Head (36) and 81 for the fifth wicket with Matthew Wade (42) to steer the tourists to a comfortable win.
Earlier, In-form batsman Dinesh Chandimal scored a defiant century to lift Sri Lanka to 226 all out against a persistent Australian bowling attack.
Dilshan farewell
Sri Lanka, looking to give retiring batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan a winning farewell, suffered from regular wicketfall after electing to bat first as they were bowled out in 49.2 overs. Pace spearhead Mitchell Starc struck in his very first over to send opener Danushka Gunathilaka, who was clean bowled, trudging back to the pavilion for five.
Josh Hazlewood, who shared the new ball with Starc, soon got Kusal Mendis caught at second slip for four to put the hosts in early trouble at 23 for two.
Opener Dilshan and wicketkeeper-batsman Chandimal, who scored 102, then put together a 73-run partnership for the third wicket to steady the Sri Lankan innings.
The 39-year-old Dilshan, who announced on Thursday that he was retiring after the
Sri Lanka
K. Gunathilaka b Starc 5 T. Dilshan c Bailey b Zampa 42 K. Mendis c Warner b Hazlewood 4 D. Chandimal c Zampa b Faulkner 102 A. Mathews lbw b Zampa 2 D. de Silva c Marsh b Faulkner 12 K. Perera b Starc 11 T. Perera c Marsh b Hastings 9 S. Prasanna c Bailey b Zampa 3 D. Perera c Warner b Hastings 17 A. Aponso not out 1
(lb 10, w 8) 18 (all out; 49.2 overs) 226
1-6 (Gunathilaka), 2-23 (Mendis), 3-96 (Dilshan), 4-103 (Mathews), 5-133 (de Silva), 6-154 (K. Perera), 7-165 (T. Perera), 8-178 (Prasanna), 9-217 (D. Perera), 10-226 (Chandimal)
Starc 10-0-42-2, Hazlewood 10-0-51-1, Hastings 10-1-41-2, Faulkner 9.2-0-44-2, Zampa 10-0-38-3
Sri Lanka
Extras: Total: Fall of wickets: Bowling:
Toss: Australia
D. Warner c Dilshan b Mathews 10 A. Finch lbw b Aponso 30 S. Marsh c Chandimal b Mathews 1 G. Bailey b Prasanna 70 T. Head b D. Perera 36 M. Wade st K. Perera b D. Perera 42 J. Faulkner c D. Perera b Aponso 4 J. Hastings not out 5 M. Starc c Prasanna b D. de Silva 12 A. Zampa not out 5
(lb-6 w-6) 12 (for 8 wickets, 46 overs) 227
1-31 D. Warner,2-42 A. Finch,3-44 S. Marsh,4-106 T. Head,5-187 M. Wade,6-204 G. Bailey,7-206 J. Faulkner,8-222 M. Starc
J. Hazlewood A.Mathews 7-0-30-2 T. Perera 2 - 0 - 18 - 0(w-2) A. Aponso 10 - 0 - 44 - 2(w-1) D. Perera 10 - 0 45 - 2(w-1) T. Dilshan 4 - 0 - 24 - 0 S. Prasanna 9 - 0 - 39 - 1(w-2) D. de Silva 4-0-21-1
Umpire: Aleem Dar Umpire: Ranmore Martinez TV umpire: Michael Gough
Javagal Srinath Australia won by 2 wickets
Extras Total Fall of wickets: Did not bat: Bowling: Referees
Match referee: Result:
Dambulla ODI, scored a 42 before falling to Adam Zampa.
Dilshan, who recorded 10,290 runs in 330 ODIs with 22 hundreds and 47 halfcenturies, acknowledged the cheers of a raucous home crowd as he walked back to the pavilion.
65ball legspinner