Commonwealth Bank Series, 2011-12

By any measure this was a thrashing for Australia - and it might have been worse had Malinga pouched a simple chance at third man when David Hussey had eight and his team were 74 for five. Malinga did his job with the ball, notably an off-cutter that bamboozled Warner, but was outshone by the slower seamers, who thrived in overcast conditions. Among their victims was Ponting, whose temporary return as captain after Clarke strained a hamstring did nothing to reinvigorate his batting.

Following a rain delay, which cut nine overs from each innings, a stand of 49 between David Hussey and Starc lifted Australia's score from downright embarrassing to merely poor. Their lack of fluency contrasted with the aggression of Dilshan, who brutally pulled Starc for six, then despatched Lee (returning from a toe injury) for three consecutive fours. Jayawardene scored only two boundaries in the first 17 overs, yet was completely at ease as he went to his first fifty in seven one-day internationals. Sangakkara became the tenth batsman to reach 10,000 runs in the format.

Man of the Match: N. L. T. C. Perera.
Attendance: 22,365.