Lanka build on Dilshan’s fighting half century
Melbourne: Battling their interminable batting crisis, Sri Lanka find themselves in a hole once again. Electing to bat, Sri Lanka are 73-4 in 21 overs. The skipper Mahela Jayawardene is trying to resurrect a sinking ship.
Lack of an opening stand has been part of Sri Lanka’s woes in this series. More often than not, Sri Lanka’s middle-order, led by Kumara Sangakkara, has had to do the recovery act.
It was a familiar pattern at Melbourne with Lanka losing their first wicket as early in the sixth over. Brett Lee set Dilruwan Perera up with a bouncer, followed it with an away going delivery and a sharp in-cutter before outfoxing him, leg-before, with a slower delivery.
Sanath Jayasuriya had an unusually quiet tournament — one of the reasons why Sri Lanka find themselves playing this inconsequential game. In the 7th over the Matara mauler unfurled his signature flash drives with a six over deep third man and a four over deep square leg off Lee, giving visions of a fairytale ending in what is his last game in Australia.
But the parting-song didn’t have the desired end. Bracken got one to rear up a bit outside off; Jayasuriya jabbed at it and Mike Hussey pouched a simple chance at first slip.
Sangakkara, Lanka’s man for crisis in this series, didn’t last long either losing his guard to Mitchell Johnson. The ball shaped away and flew to Hussey who flung himself to his right to take a stunning catch.
Chamara Kapugedera’s dismissal for two, edging James Hopes to Adam Gilchrist, rounded off a dismal summer for Sri Lanka’s young guns.
Sri Lanka, who are out of the tournament, would be itching to gain some positives out of this tie.
Their batting has been listless in the tournament, barring the chase in a rain-curtailed tie against India at Canberra.
Australia
Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, James Hopes, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, Brad Hogg, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken
Sri Lanka
Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Dilruwan Perera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumara Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ishara Amerasinghe, Muttiah Muralitharan
