Australia slump to sixth straight loss
Sri Lanka have inflicted a sixth straight international defeat on Australia, with Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga’s record ninth-wicket ODI partnership in today’s match stealing victory from the jaws of defeat for the visitors.
With Kumar Sangakkara’s side falling to 107-8 in pursuit of a 240-run target, Australia seemed on course for a routine victory, and one that would boost their dented confidence ahead of the Ashes, which begin at the end of November.
The one wicket victory gives Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead in their three match series, and with it the distinct possibility of snatching their first series victory in the format against Australia at home.
The host’s return to somewhere closer to a full-strength team for the match at the MCG – though regular skipper Ricky Ponting and first-choice spinner Nathan Hauritz were missing – gave reason to hope they could turn around a lean patch of form, with wicket-keeper batsman Brad Haddin opening the batting with 49 from 55 balls before he became Thisara Perera’s second victim of the day.
Hussey’s return to the limited-overs squad also delivered some much needed runs for the out-of-form batsman, with the 35-year-old racking up an unbeaten 71-run knock to top-score for his side. Support for his innings came from stand-in captain Michael Clarke (27) and Shaun Marsh (31 from 53), the latter seeming to comfortably settle into a middle order batting slot.
The only failure for Australia was Cameron White, the Victorian bowled on his home ground for a golden duck as Perera once again wove his magic.
Indeed, the 21-year-old paceman’s five-wicket haul (with 46 runs conceded) restricted http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 when White’s wicket left them vulnerable at 88-4.
As Sri Lanka began the chase, Peter Siddle drew the first blood as he teamed up with Hussey to see the dangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan caught out for seven.
Upul Tharanga was then run out for three (from 18 balls) as debutant Xavier Doherty got himself involved in the action with a direct hit after making a diving stop at mid-off.
That was to be just the beginning for the Tasmanian left-arm spinner, who claimed his first wicket in ODI cricket when he trapped Mahela Jayawardene on the pads for 49, before adding the wickets of Chamara Silva (caught for four) and Sri Lanka skipper Sangakkara (49 from 46) in consecutive balls, the second of them snared with a sharply turning delivery that bamboozled the batsman before crashing into his stumps.
When Mitchell Johnson joined the party with his first wicket, bowling Perera for a duck, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 were in all sorts of trouble at 86-6.
Another run-out followed, with Steven Smith collecting the throw from the deep single-handed at the bowlers end and removing the bails to end Suraj Randiv’s innings for 10 before Doherty captured his fourth wicket, that of Nuwan Kulasekara, who was dismissed lbw without troubling the scorer.
At 107-8, Sri Lanka looked to be out for the count, but Angelo Mathews (who finished unbeaten on 77) and Lasith Malinga began to pepper the boundary and bring the visitors right back into the match, as they paired up to guide their team to victory.
Scores were level when Malinga, who had reached his first ODI half-century in the match, was run out for 56, bringing the 132-run partnership to an end and bringing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157 out into the middle, where he took his place at the non-strikers end.
Victory was ultimately sealed the next over with a Muralitharan boundary with 34 balls to spare, as celebrations began for the Sri Lankans, while Australia were left to rue yet another one that got away.
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