Sport

Australia wins rain-curtailed match, secures place in the tri-series finals

Melbourne: It is not often that a 98-ball unbeaten 64 turns out to be the match-winning effort in a One-Day International. This was the case at the MCG on Friday.

Michael Hussey’s effort lacked sparkle and was constructed rather than conjured. It was nevertheless a crafty knock by a man who comprehends the nuances of building an innings and adapting to conditions.

For Australia, the innings was priceless. It also ensured the host a place in the CB tri-series finals.

A low-scoring scrap on a sluggish pitch was ended by a sharp burst of rain. Inclement weather, though, could not stop the Aussies winning by 24 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method. Australia’s 184 for seven in 50 overs gave Sri Lanka a chance. Then, the Aussie pacemen, exploiting the pitch with typical efficiency, contained the Sri Lankans and struck.

The host was way ahead in the D/L calculations — Sri Lanka was 77 for four in 29.3 overs and even won with a bonus point.

With a game remaining, Australia has 22 points. Sri Lanka, on six after six, has to win both its matches apart from hoping that India loses to Australia in Sydney on Sunday.

The Lankan chase was dented early with Sanath Jayasuriya edging a delivery leaving him from Stuart Clark to Ricky Ponting in the slips.

Soon, new opener Dilruwan Perera was at the receiving end of a contentious leg-before decision when rapped on the pads by a Clark off-cutter.

Sangakkara, once again, offered resistance but the nature of the wicket prevented him from forcing the pace. Mahela Jayawardene cover drove Mitchell Johnson fluently but was soon snared outside the off-stump by left-armer Nathan Bracken.

With the threat of rain looming, Sangakkara attempted a stroke across the line against medium pacer James Hopes. The top-edge was gleefully accepted.

Earlier, the Aussies struggled as well. Jayawardene had a tough call to make after winning the toss. Inserting Australia made sense since there was bound to be some assistance for the pacemen early on. But then, chasing under the lights with inclement weather forecast for the evening was bound to be tough.

Jayawardene backed his bowlers. Despite the Lankan batting lacking depth, he retained the five-man attack. They were also helped by some ordinary stroke-selection from the Aussies. Adam Gilchrist’s charge and swing against the deceptive Chaminda Vaas only led to his stumps being rearranged.

Lasith Malinga was fast but Farveez Maharoof bowled with intelligence. He bowled around off-stump, switched his line competently and mixed his speed.

In the match at Adelaide, Maharoof was guilty of bowling short and giving the batsmen width. On the occasions when Maharoof did not rely on swing, he exploited the inconsistent bounce on the pitch. Matthew Hayden, unable to unleash the big hits, attempted to work the ball around and got a leading edge that was snaffled up.

His timing awry, Ponting struggled. Maharoof, fielding smartly off his own bowling, eventually put an end to the skipper’s misery. Andrew Symonds’s shortcomings when the pitch does a bit were once again evident as the big-made cricketer attempted to drive Maharoof on the rise without using his feet. The ball came in to kiss the edge on way to Sangakkara’s gloves.

The Australian innings was in a mess at 54 for four in the 22nd over.

Clarke, a batsman growing in maturity, rallied with the left-handed Michael Hussey. When Clarke (50, 69b, 4x4) departed in the 42nd over, the total was 144. Clarke read the situation and the pitch well.

There was not really any pace on the ball for the batsmen to exploit. Towards the end of his key innings, Clarke gave Lasith Malinga the charge, clouting the paceman to the long-on fence. Soon, an impressive Muralitharan’s curling full toss had him knocking the ball back to the bowler.

Hussey’s unbeaten innings included just one boundary. The left-hander’s innings was business-like yet clever. He was, rightly, the Man of the Match.

SCOREBOARD

 Australia: A. Gilchrist b Vaas 6, M. Hayden c Silva b Maharoof 23, R. Ponting (run out) 11, M. Clarke c & b Muralitharan 50, A. Symonds c Sangakkara b Maharoof 4, M. Hussey (not out) 64, J. Hopes st Sangakkara b Muralitharan 11, B. Hogg c Dilshan b Malinga 4, M. Johnson (not out) 6, Extras (b-2, w-3): 5; Total (for seven wkts. In 50 overs): 184.

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-39, 3-44, 4-54, 5-144, 6-166, 7-173.

Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 10-1-34-1, Malinga 10-1-44-1, Maharoof 10-1-20-2, Muralitharan 10-0-37-2, Amerasinghe 10-0-47-0.

Sri Lanka: D. Perera lbw b Clark 1, S. Jayasuriya c Ponting b Clark 0, K. Sangakkara c Symonds b Hopes 22, M. Jayawardene c Gilchrist b Bracken 27, C. Silva (not out) 16, T. Dilshan (not out) 9, Extras (lb-1, w-1): 2; Total (for four wkts. in 29.3 overs): 77.

Fall of wickets: 0-1, 2-3, 3-42, 4-64.

Australia bowling: Bracken 6-1-13-1, Clark 5-1-8-2, Johnson 7-1-17-0, Hopes 7-2-23-1, Hogg 4.3-1-15-0.

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