Australia triumph despite Mathews

Thanks to a late fight back by Sri Lanka, the fourth match of the CB series went down to the wire as Australia prevailed by a slender margin of five runs. Chasing a modest 232, Sri Lanka started well but lost their way during the middle overs to be 143 for 7 at one stage but Angelo Mathews mounted a superb rear guard with the tail to almost take Sri Lanka home. He was the last man to be dismissed on the penultimate delivery of the match as he attempted to clear the ropes, instead found the fielder at long on. Nevertheless, his 64 runs knock under extreme pressure proved his value as a high-class all-rounder.

After Upul Tharanga went early, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara steadied the chase. Dilshan, quick to punish anything wide, struck some eye catching strokes in his 40. However, he was involved in the run-out of Sangakkara, which eventually made a big difference in the overall context of the game. When the two were batting, Sri Lanka were very much in control as runs came with relative ease.

Dinesh Chandimal too played well for his 37 but a middle-order collapse that saw the visitors lose 4 for 33 allowed Australia to dictate terms. Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Nuwan Kalusekara and Chandimal all fell to poor strokes. Xavier Doherty made life difficult for the new batsmen by bowling parsimoniously; his ten overs only cost 24 runs.

With just three wickets in hand, Angelo Mathews shepherded the tail in a valiant attempt to keep the flagging chase on track. Even though, the run rate was climbing all the time, the heir apparent for the Sri Lankan captaincy didn’t loose his composure. When last man Dhammika Prasad walked into the middle, Sri Lanka needed 52 to win and Australia were the overwhelming favourites.

While Prasad supported him well with the odd single, Mathews did the bulk of scoring to bring down the equation to 18 runs off the last over. The first two deliveries by Mitchell Starc were hammered for a boundary and a six and couple of singles followed as Sri Lanka came within one stroke of a famous win. However, it ended in heartbreak for Angelo Mathews, a swipe off the fifth ball landed straight into the waiting hands of Dan Christian.

Earlier, a disciplined bowling backed up lively fielding restricted Australia to a middling total of 231 runs. Regular wickets meant the hosts never had the momentum to push forward as all their five frontline Sri Lankan bowlers picked up brace each to dismiss Australia in the 50th over. Without a feisty ninth wicket stand, the target would be even less but the Sri Lankan camp would have been the happier one at half way stage.

After being put in to bat on a hard WACA pitch, Australia lost two wickets early- Mathew Wade and Ricky Ponting making one run each. While Wade was caught behind, Ponting was trapped in front by Lasith Malinga, who at the other end was having a nice little tussle with David Warner. The diminutive left-handed Australian made the first move by smacking a boundary in the first over bowled by Malinga. Despite the early wickets, he continued to go after Malinga, a pitched up delivery disappeared over long on. However, Angelo Mathews cut short the mini-battle by bowling Warner for 29-ball 34.

Michael Hussey looked good but Nuwan Kulasekara pulled off a spectacular one-handed catch on his own blowing to put the hosts in strife. At 81 for 4, Australia needed a partnership to steady the ship. With skipper Michael Clarke still there, the job could be done but he needed someone to stick around.

David Hussey briefly partnered Clarke for a 49-run stand but another good catch by Lahiru Thirimanne ended it. Next man in, all-rounder Daniel Christian batted well for 33 runs, his partnership with Clarke set stage for a late charge. However, Sri Lanka removed both of them in quick succession. Christian was stumped off Sachithra Senanayake for 33 and Clarke, on 57 was caught by his opposite number at midwicket. Senanayake in his next over (42) removed Ryan Harris as Australia lost three wickets in as many overs to be 192 for 8.

Sri Lanka may well have been chasing a sub-200 total but Clint McKay and Mitchell Starc added 32 vital runs for the ninth wicket, McKay hitting three boundaries in his run-a-ball 25. In the end, the runs that Australia’s tail made hurt Sri Lanka badly.