Sri Lanka Crush Australia in One-off Twenty20; Win by 7 Wickets
The almighty six by Thisara Perera, that was all of 123 meters long, took http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 over the line with a bang as the Islanders defeated Australia by 7 wickets in the one-off T20 match at the Western Australian Cricket Association
Ground, Perth.
The shot by Perera must have scared the living daylights out of spinner Steven Smith and is set to give him nightmares throughout the Halloween week as it thundered into the stands, almost knocking off one of the floodlight towers
erected at the stadium.
Earlier in the day, the Australians won the toss and opted to bat first on a perfect batting wicket at the bounciest and fastest track in the world.
The hosts, who looked eager to dig into the Sri Lankans at the start of their innings, were in for a rude shock as they crashed to 43/5 in 10.1 overs.
The poor start also disappointed the home fans who had hoped for a solid performance from their team.
David Warner was the first one to go: he was dismissed for 2 runs (off 8 balls); Australian captain Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 followed him to the hutch for 16 runs.
The Aussies were struck three more body blows in quick succession as Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326, Cameron White and David Hussey perished to the Sri Lankan seam and spin attack that was clearly at its best.
Wicket-keeper Brad Haddin and spinner Steven Smith resurrected the situation somewhat with a purposeful partnership that ensured that the hosts would have something to bowl at.
Haddin scored 35 while Smith was the more adventurous of the two, scoring 34 runs off a mere 23 balls. He struck 3 fours and 1 six in his innings before perishing to Suraj Randiv with Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara completing
an easy stumping.
Haddin followed a run later; he was taken by Angelo Mathews off the bowling of Randiv; the right-hander also struck 3 fours and 2 sixes in his innings.
The Australians had to settle for a below par total of 133/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
For the Sri Lankans, Suraj Randiv and Thisara Perera were the two most successful bowlers, claiming 3 and 2 wickets respectively.
The Sri Lankans started their chase positively with Mahela Jayawardene and Tilakaratne Dilshan striking the ball with ease. Jayawardene was the first one to go; he was dismissed with the score on 35 in the 4th over of
the innings.
Brad Haddin snapped a catch behind the wickets off the bowling of Peter Siddle; his innings lasted for 16 balls and he struck 5 fours in his 24-run knock.
Newcomer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dinesh-c54134 Chandimal did not last long; he was trapped in front of the stumps by Dirk Nannes for 2 runs that came off 3 balls.
The Sri Lankans recovered brilliantly through the pair of Dilshan and Sangakkara, who belted the ball around and galloped towards their paltry target.
With the win a mere formality, Dilshan perished in the 15th over of the innings after striking 6 boundaries in his 41-run knock that came off 34 balls.
At this juncture, the match ended through the ferocious assault of Perera who hit Smith for two sixes including the 123 meter monster and a four to seal http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746’s fate.
Suraj Randiv was named man of the match for his impressive bowling in the match; the two teams will now lock horns in a three-match ODI series that starts on the 3rd of November at Melbourne.
The second match would be played at Sydney’s SCG ground, followed by the third and the last tie at the Gabba in Brisbane on 7th November.
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