Mathews and Malinga blow away Australia
Sri Lanka registered an unbelievable victory against Australia in the first One-day International helped by the record breaking partnership between Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga for the ninth wicket.
Chasing a target of 240 runs, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 didn’t get off to brilliant of starts losing two early wickets which sent them on the back foot. Hard hitting opener Dilshan got out off Peter Siddle. The stocky built fast bowler, who was making his return to international
cricket couldn’t have wished for a better scalp to boost his confidence.
Upul Tharanga was never comfortable out in the middle and soon followed in the footsteps of his opening partner after getting run out on the personal score of three runs. The demise of nervy Tharanga brought in Mahela Jayawardene who alongside skipper Kumar
Sangakkara tried to stabilized the condition by building a partnership.
Sangakkara was at his best placing his shots perfectly in gaps where as Mahela tried t hang in there to support his captain. The duo put on fifty four runs third wicket partnership to give some respectability to the total. But against the run of play Jayawardene
got out after he was adjudged LBW off Xavier Doherty when he was caught plumb in front of the stumps.
In came Chamara Silva but his stint at the crease was limited to just eight balls after he was caught by Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 and again the damage was caused by Doherty. During the time ball was in the air the batsmen crossed the ends and Sri Lankan skipper got
out of the very next ball which put Doherty on a hat-trick. Sangakkara made a gutsy forty nine which was laced with six boundaries. He was unlucky not to complete his half century but never the less he scored more than run a ball to help the score board ticking
along.
It got worse for the visitors as Mitchell Johnson clean bowled Perera for a duck which left the Lankans staring defeat at eighty six for six in the 19th over. The tourists were stunned by the resurgent Aussie side who claimed four wickets with in the span
of less than four overs. Soon, Suraj Randiv was run out for 10 and then Doherty shipped in with his fourth wicket by dismissing Nuwan Kulasekara.
Then in came an unsung hero of the night Lasith Malinga who paired up with Angelo Mathews at the wicket in a situation when the defeat was imminent. By the look of things it was looking a matter of time before the Australian bowlers sent the tourists packing
home to a crushing defeat. But the duo of Malinga and Matthews showed some resistance to put a courageous fight back which set the platform for one the best partnerships of all time in the history of One-dayers.
Looking down and out at 107 for eight the Sri Lankans raced to victory helped by a sensational 132 runs eighth wicket partnership between Mathews and Malinga.
Angelo Mathews remained not out on seventy seven runs with one six and eight boundaries. Meanwhile, Malinga bashed his highest one-day score scoring fifty six runs hitting two towering sixes and hitting half a dozen boundaries in the process. Malinga got
run out when the scores were equaled and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157 hit a winning four to earn a legendary victory for Sri Lanka.
Earlier http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 posted a total 239 runs off playing their full quota of overs.
Under fired Mike Hussey who is known as Mr. Cricket top scored with a har fought unbeaten knock of seventy one runs to help Australia to 239 for eight off their 50 overs.
Brad Haddin and Shaun Marsh were the other notable scorers with forty nine and thirty one runs respectively. For Sri Lana Parera got a five wicket haul.
Tags: