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Australia seal nervy chase after Chandimal ton
- Updated: August 28, 2016
Australia 227 for 8 (Bailey 70, Wade 42) beat Sri Lanka 226 (Chandimal 102, Zampa 3-38) by 2 wicketsScorecard and ball-by-ball details
There were reasons for Sri Lankan fans to cheer at the third ODI in Dambulla. But the result wasn’t one of them. On a day when Tillakaratne Dilshan was farewelled from one-day international cricket, and Dinesh Chandimal scored his fourth ODI hundred, Australia held on for a tense victory that gave them a 2-1 series lead with two to play – and gave David Warner a 100% success rate as an international captain.
Not that it was all smooth sailing. Chasing 227, Australia relatively cruised most of the way. At 187 for 4 they needed only 40 more runs, with George Bailey and Matthew Wade both well set, but suddenly Sri Lanka’s spinners came into the game. Four wickets fell in quick time and it was beginning to look like Australia might find a way to throw it away. It was Adam Zampa who struck the winning runs, a boundary behind point off Amila Aponso, and a single five balls later.
It wasn’t any old single – it was cut in the air towards extra cover, where Dilruwan Perera hurled himself into the air to try for a one-handed catch. The ball didn’t stick, and the result was sealed: a two-wicket win, though with four overs remaining. That Sri Lanka came that close to pulling the rug out from under Australia was a fine effort, given the solid way the chase unfolded through two key partnerships.
In the absence of captain Steven Smith, who had flown home for a rest, Australia needed a leader to steer the chase. It would not be Warner, who fell in the fifth over to a terrific diving catch from Dilshan at point off Mathews. Nor would it be Aaron Finch, lbw to Aponso for a brisk 30, nor Shaun Marsh, caught by a diving Chandimal at mid-off off Mathews for 1.
The man was Bailey, the most experienced ODI player in the side. He set about building a 62-run partnership with Travis Head, and then an 81-run stand with Wade that took Australia to within …
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