One could see it coming. Sri Lanka had come perilously close to winning against Australia, and almost pulled off a tight win against India. On both occasions, the opposition somehow managed to hang on — Australia for a victory and India for a tie. However, on Friday at Sydney, the tide finally turned. Sri Lanka put in a completely ruthless performance with both bat and ball as well as in the field as the Aussies were embarrassingly crushed on the day Ricky Ponting returned to lead the side in the absence of their injured regular skipper Michael Clarke. It did not help that Ponting continued to struggle for runs in the 50-over format. He registered his fourth consecutive score of under 10. Except for the in-form David Hussey no one in the Aussie line-up got a decent score, as a result of which the home side ended up with a below-par score. All credit to Sri Lanka though for the manner in which they rolled over the Aussies.
A number of factors contributed to the success of Sri Lanka, foremost among them being their magnificent bowling effort. All-rounder Farveez Maharoof made an excellent return to the team, snaring the key wickets of Ponting and the impressive newcomer to the Australian side, Peter Forrest. Significantly, no Lankan bowler picked up more than two wickets in the game, yet the Aussies were decimated, pointing towards a good team effort. Lasith Malinga picked up only a solitary wicket and was rather expensive, but his slower one that foxed the dangerous David Warner early on in the innings ensured that the Lankans got off to a perfect start with the ball.
Among the other bowlers, Nuwan Kulasekara did not pick up a wicket, but kept the runs down. Also, Rangana Herath and Angelo Mathews combined to pick up a couple of crucial scalps. Above all though, it was the effort of all-rounder Thisara Perera with both the ball as well as in the field that stood out as the major difference between the two sides. Apart from claiming the key wickets of David Hussey, who once again held the innings together for Australia with a half-century, and the big-hitting Daniel Christian, Perera was also involved in affecting a couple of run-outs, which further dented Australia’s chances to making a comeback into the match, and put Sri Lanka way ahead.
It was not only their bowlers, but even Sri Lanka’s batsmen, who were dominant in the game on Friday, which was a refreshing change from their batting struggles in the earlier games of the tri-series. Tillakaratne Dilshan, who has been getting plenty of starts but has failed to convert them, came out with intent and nullified the Brett Lee factor in a matter of a few overs. Lee, making a comeback into the match was smashed all over the park by Dilshan. Although yet again his swashbuckling knock was cut short of the half-century mark, given the low target on hand, the Lanka opener’s knock set up the chase perfectly for visting side. And even though Kumar Sangakkara perished after completing 10,000 runs in one day cricket, skipper Mahela Jayawardene guided them home with ease, nothing up a half-century along the way. Jayawardene has been impressive as leader of his men throughout this tri-series. However, he was in dire need of a good score to impose himself upon the opposition. Against Australia, with Sri Lanka desperate for a win, Jayawardene did the same.
Friday triumph has not only kept Sri Lanka alive in the tri-series, but should also give them the confidence to compete with both Australia and India on level terms in the remainder of the series. The tri-series has been set up nicely and, from hereon, it should be an intriguing journey, all the way towards the finishing line.
By: The Pinch Hitter
Ever since The Pinch Hitter was introduced to cricket at the age of nine, he fell in love with the gentleman’s game. While his desire to take up the sport professionally remained unfulfilled, he substituted the bat with the pen. And since 2003, he has been commenting on the sport for various magazines, websites, enjoying every moment of it. With ‘Over the top’ he hopes to continue enlightening and enlivening ‘cricket companions’ the write way.
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