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| Tillakaratne Dilshan his ten fours in his 106 |
Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan took full toll of a wayward
Australia as Sri Lanka forced a third triangular series final in
Adelaide. Chasing 272, the visitors galloped to the target with 5.4
overs to spare, benefiting greatly from a rollicking start when the
first three overs reaped 30 runs.
Dilshan alternated between the brazen and the cheeky, crashing 10 fours
and also being struck on the helmet when he attempted his patented
Dil-scoop. The captain Jayawardene was more cultured, but outpaced his
partner in a princely innings that would have ended in the second over
if not for a Clint McKay no-ball.
Such indiscipline summed up Australia's predicament, having struck a
horrid patch of form in the field midway through the first final in
Brisbane and then being unable to rise above it in Adelaide. The captain
Michael Clarke is also in the unenviable position of carrying a left
hamstring problem perilously close to the start of the West Indies tour,
due to begin almost immediately after the third final.
Clarke had done his best to give his side a decent total. His 117 in
Australia's 6 for 271 was the fastest of his limited-overs career and
the second of his ODI captaincy. David Warner was more circumspect, but
his chanceless 100 demonstrated a range of concentration and focus
reserved for the best of batsmen. Famed as a boundary hitter, Warner
reached the rope only four times in his innings and cleared it only
once, but the value of his effort was reflected in a final total far
greater than seemed possible at the innings' midpoint.
Matthew Wade departed early to the spin of Dilshan, who opened the
bowling and completed a tidy 10 overs, before Shane Watson played a
chancy innings in which he was grassed twice. Each dropped catch fell
off the bowling of Farveez Maharoof, who ultimately ran out Australia's
vice-captain with a direct hit in his follow through. Lasith Malinga was
the tightest of Sri Lanka's bowlers and deserved his three wickets.
Two more catches would go down off Clarke's bat later in the innings,
while Jayawardene raged against a delayed no-ball call at the height of
his opposite number's innings. Debating the point angrily with both
umpires after Maharoof had strayed above waist height with a full toss,
Jayawardene lost his cool. His fury would be far more controlled when
the reply began.
A second-over edge behind by Jayawardene was cancelled out by McKay's
overstep, typical of the abject way in which Australia's bowlers began
their defence of a less than watertight total. Brett Lee gave up three
wides on the way to conceding 12 from the opening over, and James
Pattinson's first two overs were taken for 22 despite an abundance of
away swing.
No fewer than 11 of the first 30 runs were handed to Sri Lanka via the
extras column, as Australia's bowlers maintained the poorly form they
had demonstrated in the latter overs in Brisbane. Clarke had taken the
field despite his injury, but his presence did not make much of a
difference.
Jayawardene and Dilshan did not get too frantic after the start they
were given, and slipped into comfortable gears that involved regular
singles and the odd boundary whenever the bowlers strayed in search of a
first wicket. Australia's mid-innings options were milked for regular
runs, Xavier Doherty's first five costing 37.
Dilshan was first to pass 50, and Jayawardene soon followed. Australia's
frustration grew when Asad Rauf refused a concerted appeal for caught
behind from Dilshan on 77, as replays revealed a substantial edge that
Wade gathered while keeping up to Watson.
Jayawardene's sparkling stay was ended by a hint of Pattinson reverse
swing and a clear lbw, but Dilshan went on to his second century of the
tournament before Dinesh Chandimal and Kumar Sangakkara guided the
visitors home.
Clarke had little hesitation batting upon winning the toss, but the
early overs were slow going. Jayawardene's imaginative use of Dilshan
added to the openers' uncertainty, and Wade's impatience proved terminal
when he swung at a ball not quite short enough for the stroke and was
bowled.
Watson's innings was halting, and he was dropped by Dilshan in the
fielding circle then by Rangana Herath on the long-off boundary - the
latter unable to complete an equivalent of his spectacular outfield take
in the first final. However Maharoof was not discouraged by the missed
chances, and when Watson was 15 he gathered and swivelled from Warner's
offside bunt to throw down the stumps and find a diving Watson
comfortably short. Clarke helped to build some greater momentum in the
company of Warner, who was less conspicuous than he had been at the
Gabba.
The pair accumulated steadily, adding a little more impetus with the
batting Powerplay, and continuing to benefit from profligate fielding
from the tourists. Clarke was turfed on 71 and 77, the second chance
falling to Malinga, who managed only to palm the chance over the rope
for six.
It set the scene for an explosive over, in which Clarke took Maharoof
for six, four, six, four - the last a high full toss swung behind square
leg. Initially the umpires did not call it a no-ball, but on reflection
Bruce Oxenford raised his arm to hand Australia an extra run and
another delivery. Jayawardene was incensed by the delayed call, arguing
at length with both officials in a manner that suggested more of the
incident would be heard later.
Clarke had blazed past Warner despite the opener having a 23-run start,
and he was first to reach his century with a flick through square leg.
Though he had made plenty of useful contributions in the interim, it was
Clarke's first ODI century since his first innings as the fully-fledged
captain, against Bangladesh in Dhaka in April 2011.
Warner's hundred arrived in the next over, an effort of composure and
also courage after his groin complaint in Brisbane. He skied a catch
without adding another run, leaving an increasingly restricted Clarke to
guide the hosts to a total rather less substantial than was ultimately
needed.
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