Michael Hussey takes the catch to seal Australia's win in the first final of the CB Series, and embraces his brother, who took four wickets at the Gabba |
David Warner chose a fine time to awaken from his one-day international slumber. His
first ODI century set up a 15-run victory in the first final for
Australia, who will raise the Commonwealth Bank Series trophy if they
repeat their success in Adelaide on Tuesday. But Sri Lanka will enter
the second final with some confidence after a remarkable, though
ultimately futile, fightback in a chase of 322.
Warner made 163, the sixth-highest score by an Australia player in an
ODI, and he batted through until the last ball of the innings as they
made 321, the second-best one-day international total ever achieved at
the Gabba. Sri Lanka's batsmen then struggled against the pace of Brett
Lee and the canny spin of David Hussey, and the top order left too much
work for those who followed.
Not that those who followed gave up. Far from it. Nuwan Kulasekara and
Upul Tharanga came together at 6 for 144, needing another 178 runs at
nearly nine an over. It seemed an unrealistic goal, and in the end it
was. But only just. They used the batting Powerplay to great effect,
taking 68 runs from it and attacking Ben Hilfenhaus and James Pattinson,
who both served up too many half-volleys and between them finished the
match with 0 for 95 off nine overs.
Though Kulasekara and Tharanga had both fallen in the search for
boundaries by the time the last few overs came around, they had left
their colleagues with some hope. Sri Lanka needed 20 off the final two
overs but they couldn't quite get there and the end came when Lasith
Malinga skied a catch to deep square leg off Shane Watson when they
needed 16 from five balls, leaving Dhammika Prasad unbeaten on 31.
Watson had also accounted for the important penultimate wicket when
Rangana Herath pulled to deep midwicket for 5. If only, Sri Lanka must
have been thinking, we hadn't left it all up to the tail. With each
boundary struck by Kulasekara and Tharanga - and there were plenty - Sri
Lanka gained hope. Australia's bowling at the death in this series has
left a lot to be desired and again it was a weakness.
Kulasekara was especially impressive and a pair of consecutive
slog-swept sixes off Hussey really brought the crowd alive. But two
balls later he sent a catch to extra cover and was out for 73 from 43
deliveries, his best ODI score. Although Tharanga was the specialist
batsman in the partnership he had been the quieter of the two, and he
followed a few overs later when he holed out to long-on off Watson for
60.
Sri Lanka will rue their top-order struggle. Mahela Jayawardene was
caught behind for 14 when he pushed tamely at Lee and his opening
partner, Tillakaratne Dilshan, followed in Lee's next over. Dilshan had
picked up five boundaries in his 27 from 22 balls, before his innings
ended when Lee nipped one through the gate as Dilshan tried for a big
drive.
Dinesh Chandimal cut the first ball from David Hussey, who finished with
4 for 43, to backward point and Kumar Sangakkara lobbed a delivery from
Lee to mid-off for 42, trying to lift the tempo as the required
run-rate increased. Lahiru Thirimanne and Farveez Maharoof both fell to
Hussey prior to the partnership that nearly saved Sri Lanka.
Even though they didn't steal the win, Tharanga and Kulasekara still
created a wonderful match. If anyone thought one-day internationals were
dead, they need only see the past week in Australia for the
counterargument. On Tuesday, Virat Kohli set up India's incredible chase
of 321 in 37 overs and on Friday, Sri Lanka held on for a tense
nine-run win despite the best chasing efforts of David Hussey.
And then there was this match, which began with 163 from Warner, an
innings that threatened to be forgotten by the end of the game. He was
bowled off the last ball of Australia's 50th over and by then he had
done enough not only to set up Australia's win, but also to ease any
pressure over his place in the side following an indifferent series at
the top of the order.
Warner and Matthew Wade gave Australia an outstanding start with a
136-run opening partnership and although Wade fell for 64, Warner went
on and made the most of the platform. He brought up his century with a
fortuitous edge to the third-man boundary from his 111th delivery and
celebrated with the now-familiar Warner high-leap and punch of the air.
It was a more restrained innings than many of Warner's limited-overs
efforts but that was no bad thing, and he still had the confidence to go
for his shots when the bowlers gave him the opportunity. Warner was
especially strong with his drives down the ground, which were generally
timed to perfection, and he also pulled with power from midwicket to
long-on.
His scoring-rate didn't pick up as much as the fans might have liked
towards the end of the innings but it was still a wonderful display. He
had late support from Michael Clarke, who scored 37 from 25 balls
batting at No.6, and Michael Hussey sent a couple of balls over the rope
in the final few overs to help Australia to their hefty total.
Michael Hussey had come in at No.7 after a reshuffle in the batting
order. Australia had sent in Daniel Christian and David Hussey early,
keen to make the most of the strong opening stand, which ended with a
spectacular, freakish catch in the outfield from Herath.
Wade seemed to make good contact with a delivery from Kulasekara but it
only got as far as long-on; Herath set himself for the catch but seemed
to misjudge the trajectory slightly and in a last, desperate attempt
thrust his left hand in the air as he fell backwards, plucking the catch
one-handed and avoiding the boundary rope as he fell over and held on
to the ball. He appeared almost as stunned by his feat as the spectators
were.
It wasn't the last remarkable thing achieved by Sri Lanka in this match.
But despite their fight, they will enter Tuesday's second final in
Adelaide needing a win to force a decider. And, after such a closely
fought series, that would be a fitting finale.
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