Ponting hundred carries Australia to nine-wicket win
Ricky Ponting scored his 11th one-day and Matthew Hayden scored an unbeaten half century as Australia romped to an emphatic nine-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in their triangular one-day international match on Tuesday
Charlie Austin
21-Jan-2003
Ricky Ponting scored his 11th one-day and Matthew Hayden scored an unbeaten
half century as Australia romped to an emphatic nine-wicket victory against
Sri Lanka in their triangular one-day international match on Tuesday.
Replying to Sri Lanka's disappointing 214 for eight, Ponting and Hayden
added 178 in 28.3 overs for the second wicket after the early loss of Adam
Gilchrist (26), taking Australia to the victory target with 15.3 overs to
spare.
The run-a-ball partnership was a record against Sri Lanka by Australia,
surpassing the 157 scored by Steve Smith and Wayne Phillips way back in
1985.
Skipper Ponting, previously out of sorts in the tournament, regained his
best form, playing shots all-round the wicket as he sped to a hundred in
just 94 balls and finished with 106 from 97 balls having hit 14 fours and
one six.
Hayden played with less freedom, only launching a full-blown assault on Sri
Lanka's lacklustre bowlers once his captain had reached three figures. The
tall left-hander finished with 80 from 87 balls, hitting one four and four
sixes.
Sri Lanka, without the services of their injured star bowler Muttiah
Muralitharan, and rested fast bowler Dilhara Fernando, went into the game
with just three specialist bowlers.
Chaminda Vaas apart, who claimed the early wicket of Gilchrist, they took a
hammering with the inexperienced Prabath Nissanka and Chamila Gamage
conceding 84 runs in 10.3 overs.
Earlier in the day, a brisk start by the Sri Lankan openers had been
followed by a mid-innings collapse that saw four wickets fall for 36 runs.
That left the tourists someway short of a defendable total against the
Australians on such a fine batting strip.
The only joy for the Sri Lankans, who are currently involved in a
distracting payment dispute with the Sri Lankan cricket board, was Aravinda
de Silva passing 9000 one-day runs.
The 37-year-old right-hander, playing his 298th one-day international in a
career that has spanned 19 years, became the third man to reach the
milestone after Sachin Tendulkar (11,546) and Mohammad Azharuddin (9378)
De Silva, who will retire from international cricket after the World Cup,
was forced to work very hard for his 44 from 73 balls, failing to hit a
single boundary.
Avishka Gunawardene, Jayasuriya's replacement, top scored with 45 from 72
deliveries, hitting four boundaries, adding 64 runs in 14.3 overs with
Atapattu (26), who was leading Sri Lanka for the third time in an ODI.
But Australia's bowlers, backed up good fielding, clawed their way back into
the game from the time that Atapattu flicked a catch into the hands of Brad
Hogg at square leg.
Wrist-spinner Hogg, set to be replaced by leg-spinner Shane Warne during the
triangular series final against England starting Thursday, bowled the key
spell, taking three wickets for 37 runs in his ten overs.
Gunwardene was trapped lbw whilst trying to sweep, Kumar Sangakkara (42) was
caught in the deep as he aimed his third six and Mahela Jayawardene was
deceived by a googly to be stumped for a second ball duck.
When Arnold (14), who added 31 runs with De Silva for the fifth wicket, was
bowled by Brad Williams and Chaminda Vaas surrendered his wicket with a
lackadaisical piece of running, Sri Lanka's innings ground to a virtual
standstill on 170 for five.
De Silva added 31 runs with Mubarak before being caught in the penultimate
over, and Tillakaratne and Mubarak scrambled 12 runs from the final over,
but it was all too little too late.