LIVE: Australia has set a complicated but manageable 259 pursuit target to keep its five-match ODI series alive after a sensational inaugural century of Charith Asalanka (110 of 106) leading Sri Lanka to a total of 258 races, all with one left over.
After getting into the fight with his 4/135 team, Asalanka survived a reduced call while only making one run when Pat Cummins cut his leg just to keep the bonds from moving.
The 24-year-old, who turns 25 in three days, changed his groin in the middle of the inning, saw three ports fall at the other end and was forced to control his usual free swing nature, but offered a master class on patience and patience. composed to achieve the highest score in the history of a Sri Lankan No. 5 against Australia.
However, Australia fought back to death, claiming three cheap wickets in overs 48 and 49 to finish off Sri Lanka’s tickets early, and well below a total that could have easily surpassed 270 or 280.
Losing 2-1 after three games in the ODI series, Australia must overcome Sri Lanka’s bowling lineup to claim victory on a dewy and tricky Colombo field.
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MATCH CENTER: Complete teams, statistics, game play and score card
Australia XI:
Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood
Sri Lanka XI: Niroshan Dickwella (week), Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya De Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Jeffrey Vandersay, Maheesh Theekshana
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FIRST ENTRY REPORT
Desperate to recover from an overwhelming six-port defeat to a Sri Lankan who broke the third ODI record, Australia won the draw and opted to play first, after struggling to play ball in conditions of pink last time.
Despite the failure of Australia’s part-time spinners to make an impact in the previous game at Colombo’s same field, the selectors decided not to include spinner Mitchell Swepson, instead of reintroducing only Pat Cummins for Jhye Richardson.
Australia had a dream start on the field, claiming a trio of wickets in the first 10 overs, with three different bowling players claiming a wicket in their first over.
First, Glenn Maxwell had Niroshan Dickwella (1) perplexed in just the second envelope of the match. Then, in the seventh, Pat Cummins went on the attack and threw the dangerous Kusal Mendis from a thick inside, leaving Sri Lanka 2-26.
Pat Cummins was brutally unlucky to miss a port. Source: FOX SPORTS
Shortly afterwards, Mitch Marsh had the impressive Pathum Nissanka – who scored a century in the third ODI – trapped from behind just 13 after a glove with an outside lead Alex Carey gave a simple catch.
After 10 overs, Sri Lanka was 3-35. But Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka balanced the boat and soon had Australia at the back, with visitors filtering the boundaries. However, Asalanka was lucky not to be fired for a single run, after seeing Pat Cummins cut his leg only so that the bail would not fall, the second time in the first 11 overs that they produced, after a Kuhnemann ball was deflected earlier in the wickets. .
Dhananjaya and Asalanka got a 100-run partnership on so many balls, before Mitch Marsh stopped his momentum with a crucial second port from Dhananjaya (60 of 61) thanks to a magnificent catch by Glenn Maxwell.
Charith Asalanka passed 50, before captain Shanaka (4) exhausted the next ball, leaving Sri Lanka 5-150 with just over 20 overs to play. Asalanka then added a 50-run partnership with 19-year-old Dunith Wellalage, while Sri Lanka crossed the 200-race mark with 10 overs to play.
Wellalage was caught in deep spinner Matthew Kuhnemann in 19 of 35, trying to increase the pace of the innings, with Sri Lanka 6-207 in 41st. Kuhnemann soon got a double when he had Chamika Karunaratne LBW (7) after the overhaul, with the glove Alex Carey convincing his captain Aaron Finch to resort to DRS.
Asalanka took his first 100 with just 99 balls, before falling by 110 over 106 to 48th. He was obviously tired of his efforts in oppressive conditions, and Aaron Finch caught him off guard with a slower Cummins ball.
Jeffrey Vandersay was eliminated (0 off 2) by Cummins in the depths after a poor run between the ports, before Sri Lanka’s final hitter Maheesh Theekshana made an incredibly poor decision to try a career in the last ball of the 49th. Wanindu Hasaranga, Sri Lanka’s versatile superstar had returned from injury and shot 21 * out of 20, and was waiting for Theekshana to block the last ball of the over so that Hasaranga could hit the end of the end. tickets.
Theekshana ran onto a great ball from Mitchell Swepson, which beat the offside trap, the keeper came rushing out and the lob was attempted, but the lob didnt succeed.
Pat Cummins finished 2/37 of his nine overs to go with a run, while Mitch Marsh had 2/29 of seven overs. Matthew Kuhnemann had 2/56 of eight overs. Josh Hazlewood played better than his 10/45 figures suggested.
Sri Lanka v Australia 3rd ODI Highlights | 06:54
TEAM FORECAST AND NEWS
The hosts lead the series 2-1 after a dominant performance saw them comfortably chase Australia’s 291st, securing consecutive ODI victories for the first time over Australia since 2013.
Now Sri Lanka is looking for a victory that would mark the first bilateral victory in the ODI series over Australia at home since 1992.
Pat Cummins came on, Jhye Richardson had to leave the fray. This meant once again that there was no room for spinner Mitchell Swepson, despite Australia’s decision to pick only the inexperienced Matthew Kuhnemann (0/61 of 10 overs) who came out spectacularly last time.
“We’ve had quite a few injuries during the tour,” Finch said, adding that the team “will have to feel comfortable” using a lot of versatile players.
Dew on the field played a key role in helping Sri Lanka’s pursuit in the third ODI, with a wetter ball spinning less and skidding over the bat in the evening.
In response, Australia opted to pitch first after winning the draw. “We need to improve the pursuit in these conditions,” said Aaron Finch, declaring it a priority in the team’s long-term development ahead of next year’s World Cup.
For Sri Lanka, superstar Wanindu Hasaranga has returned from a groin injury after missing the last two games. He replaced the quickly injured Dushmantha Chameera (ankle) as the only change to Sri Lanka’s eleven, leaving the hosts without a front-line bowling player and four full spinners.
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