Sri Lanka all out for 247 on Day 2 against New Zealand

1st Test, Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand, Day 2

Scorecard:

New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first

New Zealand 1st Innings 221 all out in 85.2 overs

Brendon McCullum 68

Daniel Flynn 53

Rangana Herath 5-65

Sri Lanka 1st Innings 247 all out in 80.2 overs

Mahela Jayawardene 91

Angelo Mathews 79

Tim Southee 4-46

Jeetan Patel 3-55

New Zealand 2nd Innings 35/1 (at stumps)

Martin Gutill 13*

Kane Williamson 9*

New Zealand lead by 9 runs

Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 16 runs to qualified for the ICC World Twenty20 2012 Finals

Sri Lankan Spinners Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis take five wickets as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 16 runs on Thursday to reach the ICC World Twenty20 2012 final.

Rangana Herath take 3 for 25 and Mendis got 2 for 27 helped to restrict Pakistan to 123 for 7 in 20 overs after Sri Lanka posted 139/4 in 20 overs.

Mohammad Hafeez top scorer for Pakistan with 42 runs. The other Semifinal between Australia and West Indies on Friday.

Brief Scorecard:

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first

Sri Lanka 139/4 (20)

Mahela Jayawardene 42, Tilakratne Dilshan 35

Pakistan 123/7 (20)

Mohammad Hafeez 42, Umar Akmal 29*, Imran Nasir 20

Rangana Herath 3-25, Ajantha Mendis 2-27, Angelo Mathews 2-27

Sri Lanka won by 16 runs. Mahela Jayawardene got the Man of the Match Award. Sri Lanka will take on Australia or West Indies in Sunday's final game.

Sri Lanka hold the semis spot with nine wicket win over West Indies

Sri Lanka hold to qualify for the World Twenty20 semifinals after thrash West Indies by nine wickets in ICC World Twenty20 2012 in Pallekele on Saturday.

Sri Lanka advance with Super Over win and have healthy run rate to take defending champions England on Monday. West Indies need to beat New Zealand on the same day.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene made unbeaten 65 off 49 balls helped Sri Lanka to reached their target 130 for 1 in 15.2 overs. Sri Lanka restricted West Indies in 129 for 4 in 20 overs. Ajantha Mendis take 2 wickets for 12 runs.

Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara (39) added 108 run unbeaten partnership for the 2nd Wicket. Ravi Rampaul take Tilakratne Dilshan wicket on 13.

Marlan Samuels top scorer for West Indies with 50 runs and Dwayne Bravo 40 . Chris Gayle got out for earlier in the West Indies batting. Mahela Jayawardene awarded as Player of the Match.

IPL 5: Delhi beat Punjab to seal playoff berth

Mahela Jayawardene's scored a match-winning 56 to help Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI Punjab in the 64th match of the Indian Premier League at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi. Delhi managed to reach the target with an over to spare as they consolidated their position at the top of the table with 20 points and become the first team to seal the playoff berth.

Parvinder Awana (3 for 22) was exceptional with the ball for visitors, especially early on, when they had slumped to 37 for 4, but Naman Ojha (34 off 29) and Irfan Pathan (19 off 10) provided enough support to help Jayawardene confirm Delhi's place in the last four.

This was after the DD top-order failed once again as both Virender Sehwag (9) and David Warner (14) promised a lot of fireworks as 21 runs came off the first two overs but Praveen Kumar gave Punjab early breakthrough in the third over when he dismissed David Warner (14). But Praveen Kumar gave Punjab breakthrough in the third over when he dismissed David Warner.

Soon Awana also struck with the very first ball to dismiss Sehwag in the fourth over as the hosts were reduced to 28 for 2. Then Awana struck twice in the sixth over to dismiss Ross Taylor (0) and Venugopal Rao (7). Awana's effort rocked Delhi run chase. But the gritty Sri Lankan batsman consolidated Delhi's innings as he added 58 runs for the fifth wicket with Naman Ojha (34).

Piyush Chawla dismissed Naman Ojha in the the fourteenth over to reduce Delhi to 95 for 5. But Jayawardene and Pathan added 45 runs for the sixth wicket to help the home team clinch a superb victory.

Earlier, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron produced a fantastic bowling effort for Delhi as they restricted Punjab to a modest 138 for 8. Yadav (3 for 21) and Aaron (2 for 19) shared five wickets between them, while the fielders took some sharp catches as well as inflicting two run-outs.

Punjab's skipper David Hussey top-scored for the visitors with an unbeaten 40 off 35 balls, but he lacked any real support from his teammates. There were no significant partnership as Hussey was the only batsmen trying to take the attack back to the opposition.

Opting to bat first, Punjab were dealt an early blow after Shaun Marsh fell in the fourth over for 13. He tried to flick Aaron on the leg side and instead sent a fine edge to wicketkeeper Naman Ojha. Mandeep Singh (21) hit a few streaky boundaries but he soon fell to Aaron as he was smartly caught by Sehwag.

Punjab were then dealt another blow as Nitin Saini (15) took a long walk back to the pavilion as he edged a ball that moved away from Yadav to Sehwag at first slip. Punjab were struggling at 54 for 3 at this stage. David Miller (4) was then run out by a Pawan Negi direct hit to leave Punjab on 63 for 4 at the halfway stage.

Hussey and Azhar Mahmood (9) tried to do a repair job, but all went in vain as Umesh send back Mahmood courtesy of a stunning catch at wide long-off by Irfan Pathan. Last match's hero Gurkeerat Singh Ahluwalia (8) hit two boundaries but then a classical left-arm spinner's delivery from Negi got better of him. Piyush Chawla (10) helped the Kings past 100 in a 29-run stand with Hussey, but after he fell, the visitors battled and eventually set 139 for victory.

Jayawardene rescues Sri Lanka in England Test

COLOMBO  - Skipper Mahela Jayawardene cracked his second century in consecutive matches to pull Sri Lanka out of trouble in the second and final Test against England in Colombo on Tuesday.

Jayawardene followed his match-winning 180 in the first Test in Galle with a classy 105 after seamer James Anderson had reduced the hosts to 30 for three within the first hour at P. Sara Oval.

Thilan Samaraweera (54) added 124 for the fourth wicket with his captain as Sri Lanka recovered to post 238 for six by stumps on the opening day in a remarkable re-run of the Galle Test.

Sri Lanka had slumped to 15-3 in the first four overs of the match at Galle, before Jayawardene and Samaraweera rescued the hosts by putting on a half-century partnership.

A sell-out crowd of 5,000, mostly travelling English fans, applauded warmly when Jayawardene reached his 31st Test century with a single off left-arm spinner Samit Patel after tea.

The 34-year-old struck 11 fours and a six in his eighth hundred against England before he was trapped leg-before by off-spinner Graeme Swann with a sharp, turning delivery.

England, whose 75-run defeat at Galle followed a 3-0 rout by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates earlier in the year, need a win to level the series and retain their number one ranking.

Andrew Strauss' men will slip to second spot behind South Africa if they lose or draw the match.

Jayawardene lost Samaraweera just before tea, leg-before to seamer Tim Bresnan, but there was no respite for the England bowlers who toiled gamely under the hot sun.

Angelo Mathews, returning to the side after missing the first Test with a calf injury, was unbeaten on 41 after adding 62 runs for the fifth wicket with his skipper.

Prasanna Jayawardene was caught behind off Steven Finn for seven, but Suraj Randiv saw out the day on five.

Anderson struck in his third over when he forced Tillakaratne Dilshan to edge a catch to wicket-keeper Matt Prior after the previous two balls had been driven for boundaries.

Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed first ball for the second match in a row when he was snapped up by Strauss in the slips, the England captain taking the catch at second attempt.

Jayawardene once again prevented a hat-trick, as he had done in Galle, and went on to master the England attack on a dry wicket that is expected to crumble in the later stages of the match.

Lahiru Thirimanne padded up to a straight ball from Anderson and was given out leg-before by umpire Bruce Oxenford, a decision upheld by the third umpire after the batsman asked for a review.

The tourists went in with a three-man seam attack, bringing in Bresnan and Finn to partner Anderson with the new ball. Spinner Monty Panesar was dropped, while Stuart Broad has flown home with a calf injury.

Sri Lanka made two changes from the side that won in Galle, as a fit-again Mathews and Dhammika Prasad returned in place of Dinesh Chandimal and Chanaka Welegedara.

Swann leads England fightback in Galle

Galle: Offspinner Graeme Swann took 4 for 28 in leading England's fightback to restrict Sri Lanka's second innings to 84 for 5 and a 209-run lead after two days of the first Test on Tuesday.

England conceded a 125-run first-innings lead to Sri Lanka.

Opener Lahiru Thirimanne and senior batsmen Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera were all dismissed within 31 overs, leaving Sri Lanka 72 for 5.

Earlier, spinner Rangana Herath took 6 for 74 to end England's first innings for 193 in reply to Sri Lanka's 318.

A total of 17 wickets fell during the second day's play.

Sri Lanka progress to 289/8 at stumps on Day 1

Galle: Captain Mahela Jayawardene hit a fighting 168 not out to rescue Sri Lanka from trouble and lead it to 289 for eight wickets at stumps on the opening day of the first cricket Test against England on Monday.

Jayawardene hit 20 boundaries and three sixes in 289 balls in what is his 30th Test century after Sri Lanka had slumped to 15-3 by the fourth over at Galle International Stadium.

Jayawardene, who has now scored 150 runs in an innings 13 times, was part of moderate but useful partnerships with Thilan Samaraweera, Dinesh Chandimal, Prasanna Jayawardene and Rangana Herath.

He was lucky to be dropped three times, two of those being grassed by Monty Panesar.

Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bat first but England's bowlers used the early movement on the pitch to rattle the top order.

James Anderson struck in two successive balls in the third over when Thirinamme's drive at an outswinger went to Graeme Swann at slip and he then had Kumar Sangakkara caught behind by Matt Prior. Anderson finished with figures of 3-56.

Stuart Broad had Tillakaratne Dilshan caught at slip by captain Andrew Strauss to reduce the home team to 15-3.

Jayawardene and Samaraweera were patient in an attempt to salvage the innings, the team reaching lunch at 66-3.

Samaraweera was run out for 20 with only one run added to the total soon after lunch. Samaraweera had looked composed and was unlucky when a straight drive brushed the bowler's fingers and hit the stumps, catching him short of his crease at the non-striker's end.

Jayawardene and Samaraweera added 52 runs for the fourth wicket.

Left-arm spinner Samit Patel picked up his maiden Test wicket on debut when he had Dinesh Chandimal caught by Ian Bell for 27, ending another 61-run stand.

Jayawardene and Herath shared 62 runs for the eighth wicket, the best partnership of the day. Herath's share of the partnership was only five runs.

Patel returned 2-27 off nine overs.

Bowlers script 50-run victory for India

Mirpur: Irfan Pathan led the Indian attack with a four-wicket haul with R Ashwin and Vinay Kumar taking three wickets apiece, which scripted a middle-order collapse for Sri Lanka to help India recover and register a 50-run victory in their first match of the Asia Cup on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka were on course to chase down India's 304 as they reached 196 for 3 in 35 overs, but losing 4 wickets for 31 runs in the batting powerplay proved decisive in the end. Ashwin (3 for 39) and Vinay (3 for 55) took two wickets each in that period to reduce the Lankans to 227 for 7 in 40 overs. Pathan then returned in the final overs to take his tally to 4 for 32 with the last Sri Lankan wicket of Seekkuge Prasanna

Earlier, India's twin centurions Virat Kohli (108) and Gautam Gambhir (100) put up a 205-run stand for the second wicket to set India up for a huge total. En route his century, Kohli became the fastest man to reach 10 ODI centuries, reaching the landmark in his 83rd match.

MS Dhoni (46 not out off 26 balls) and Suresh Raina (30 not out off 17 balls) then hammered the Lankan attack for 78 runs in the final 7.1 overs to cross the 300-run mark with a six from Raina off the last ball of the 50th over.

Sachin Tendulkar (6) fell early after Sri Lanka put India in to bat. He hit a full toss straight to Jayawardene in short cover; however, the maestro wasn't convinced if the catch was clean and stood his ground. The umpires brought the third umpire into play, who upheld the decision after replays showed nothing wrong with the dismissal.

Thereafter, it was a Kohli-Gambhir show as they stole the limelight by bringing up the 10th ODI centuries of their respective careers.

The Sri Lankan bowlers had no answers for Kohli who scored his second consecutive century in Mirpur after punishing the Bangladeshis in the World Cup opener last year. He and Gambhir fell soon after reaching the landmark but Dhoni and Raina ensured boundaries came thick and fast in the last seven overs to take India's total to 304 for 3.

The islanders lost Tillakaratne Dilshan (7) early in their chase but Jayawardene played a captain's knock of 78 in just 59 balls, which included 10 fours and two sixes. After Dilshan was sent back by Pathan, Jayawardene joined hands with Kumar Sangakkara for a 93-run second-wicket partnership in a 14-over period that saw some delectable strokeplay, especially from the skipper.

The Sri Lankans merrily moved to 124 for 1 in just the 19th over when Jayawardene's cheeky glide led to his downfall. The delivery from Pathan kissed the face of his bat to settle inside the gloves of a diving Dhoni. The wicket got India a foot inside the door as they struck 28 runs later when Ashwin foxed Dinesh Chandimal (13) to bowl him with his carrom ball.

At 152 for 3, Sangakkara found an ally in Lahiru Thirimanne and the duo started bringing the chase back on track by milking the Indian spinners. It was evident that Sri Lanka were eyeing the batting powerplay, especially in the way they approached the chase from that point on.

However, Ashwin sent Sangakkara (65) and Thirimanne (29) back in the first over of the powerplay, while Vinay took care of Nuwan Kulasekara (11) and Chamara Kapugedara (0) in the fourth. Maharoof tried to be a bit adventurous; however, it proved to be futile in the end.

The defending champions will next take on Bangladesh, who lost to Pakistan in the opening match, on March 16.

SL thrash Australia in 2nd CB series final

Adelaide: Tillakaratne Dilshan led the way with an impressive century as Sri Lanka humbled Australia in an eight-wicket win on Tuesday to force the Tri-series into a third and deciding final.

Dilshan shared a 179-run opening stand with skipper Mahela Jayawardene (80) and a 55-run second-wicket partnership with Kumar Sangakkara before he was caught in the outfield off Brett Lee's bowling in the 38th over, with the Sri Lankans needing only 38 runs for victory.

Sangakkara finished unbeaten on 51 when he hit the winning boundary with almost six overs to spare.

Australia posted 271-6 after winning the toss and batting, with David Warner scoring 100 and Michael Clarke belting 117 from 91 balls before Lasith Malinga took three late wickets to give Sri Lanka some momentum.

It was Warner's second century in three days, following his 163 in Australia's 15-run win in the first final on Sunday, but it was uncharacteristic — coming off 140 balls and containing only a sprinkling of boundaries.

Clarke dominated the 184-run third-wicket partnership with Warner, stroking five boundaries and four sixes as he tried to lift the sluggish runrate, but also injured his left hamstring and is in doubt for the third final at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

"We didn't score enough runs, our fielding was poor again tonight and our bowling let us down," Clarke said. "On a very good batting wicket, against a good and strong batting opposition, you need to make 300 on that wicket."

The Sri Lankans also had problems in the field, dropping five catches, but bowled with more discipline than the Australians after opening with offspinner Dilshan in a surprising move by Jayawardene. Malinga's bowling in the end, when Australia could only muster 35 runs in the last five overs, was critical to Sri Lanka leveling the series.

Australia had been in command of the first final, having Sri Lanka struggling at 144-6 chasing 322 for victory in Brisbane on Sunday, but slumped in the last 20 overs against an onslaught from the lower-order batsmen and only ended up winning by 15 runs in the last over.

Defending a low total on Tuesday, the Australian bowlers again struggled, conceding 30 runs in the first three overs including 11 sundries. The Sri Lankan batsmen took their cue from there, and kept the runrate up throughout the innings.

"We bowled really well up front, kept them to a reasonable total. With the bat, we had a very positive start, said Jayawardene, who was sanctioned by the match referee for arguing a no-ball call by the umpires during the Australian innings.

The Sri Lankans have won four of their last five matches against Australia and overcame two early losses in the tournament to edge World Cup champion India for a place in the final.

Jayawardene said his team, runnersup at the 2011 World Cup, had proved its critics wrong.

"No one gave us any chance when we came to Australia," he said. "As long as we're confident about our game, and play the way we've been playing the last couple of weeks, we've got a very good chance."

1st final: Australia hold nerves to beat Sri Lanka

Brisbane: Australia beat a gallant Sri Lanka by 15 runs in the first tri-series one-day international final at the Gabba on Sunday.

After Australia made an imposing 321 for six, Sri Lanka replied with 306 in 49.2 overs. The Sri Lankans were always going to struggle to reach the Australian total after David Warner blasted 163, the highest ever ODI score at the Gabba.

Warner was in magnificent touch as he smashed 13 fours and two sixes in his 157-ball innings, sharing in 50-run partnerships with Matthew Wade, Shane Watson and Michael Clarke.

For Sri Lanka it was an opening bowler, Nuwan Kulasekara, who starred with the bat, scoring 73 from just 43 balls with seven fours and three towering sixes. Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan began well and attacked from the outset, scoring at a faster rate than the Australians had in their innings.

However, veteran pace bowler Brett Lee struck to remove both openers, before part-time spinner David Hussey enticed a false shot from in-form Dinesh Chandimal. The match appeared as good as over when Lee struck again to get rid of Kumar Sangakkara for 42, leaving Sri Lanka struggling at 115 for four.

But a highly entertaining seventh wicket partnership of 104 from only 70 balls between Kulasekara and Upul Tharanga (60) - including 68 runs in the five-over batting powerplay - saw Sri Lanka claw their way back.

When Hussey struck again to dismiss Kulasekara the Australians were back in control, holding on despite some late hitting from Dhammika Prasad (31 not out). The second final will be in Adelaide on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka beat Australia by 3 wickets

Hobart: Mahela Jayawardene hit an aggressive half century to help set up Sri Lanka's thrilling three-wicket win over Australia in a limited-overs tri-series match on Friday.

Man of the match Jayawardene hit six boundaries and a six to make 85 off 81 balls, and Dinesh Chandimal brought up an assured 80 at Bellerive Oval as the Sri Lankans scored 283-7 to overhaul Australia's 280-6 with four balls to spare.

"It was one of those days when most of your shots went to the gaps," Jayawardene said.

Sri Lanka now leads the tri-series with 15 points, one more than Australia, ahead of the finals starting March 4.

"The youngsters are learning a lot from these games," Jayawardene said. "We are top of the table, but we still need to do a lot of hard work."

Sri Lanka's hopes of the win looked in doubt when Angelo Mathews miscued a Dan Christian (3-53) delivery with 14 runs required from nine balls, but Thisara Perera hit a four and a six off the next two balls, and Nuwan Kulasekara hit a four in the last over to seal the victory.

"Unfortunately we couldn't get over the line, but full credit to Sri Lanka," Australia captain Michael Clarke said. "Our execution with the ball wasn't good and the top four could do better."

Sri Lanka opener Tillekeratne Dilshan made just 3 before he was caught by Peter Forrest at deep square-leg off Ben Hilfenhaus in the eighth over.

Kumar Sangakkara edged a Christian ball to David Warner for 22, and Jayawardene was stumped by wicketkeeper Matthew Wade when he was beaten by a Xavier Doherty delivery.

Lahiru Thirimanne added 24 before becoming Christian's second victim, caught by Hilfenhaus.

Chandimal hit seven fours in his knock. He was trapped lbw by Ryan Harris and Farveez Maharoof had added just 5 when he lofted a ball to Harris off Hilfenhaus.

Forrest earlier scored 104 for his maiden international century in what appeared to be a challenging Australian total. His century was the first of the tri-series tournament, which also involves India.

Clarke made a quick-fire 72 off 79 balls in a 152-run, third-wicket stand with Forrest to steady Australia after an early collapse.

Australia made a poor start to the match after winning the toss and opting to bat when opener Matthew Wade was caught by Jayawardene at wide mid-off for 5 in just the second over.

Opening partner Warner was caught behind for 7 shortly after while defending a Maharoof delivery.

Perera claimed an athletic catch on the mid-wicket boundary to give Mathews (2-43) the valuable wicket of Australia captain Clarke.

Forrest had hit 10 boundaries and two sixes when he offered a simple catch to Maharoof off a slower Mathews ball.

Michael Hussey made 21 off 14 balls before being bowled by Lasith Malinga and Christian was stumped by wicketkeeper Sangakkara after he charged up the wicket at a Rangana Herath delivery.

David Hussey was unbeaten on 40 with Brett Lee on 20 at the end of the Australia innings.

CB Series: Sri Lanka beat India by 51 runs

Brisbane: A spineless batting display which was preceded by some inexplicable moments on the field saw India crash to a 51-run defeat against Sri Lanka in match eight of the CB series at the Gabba on Tuesday.

Chasing 290 for victory, the Indian innings folded at 238 in 45.1 overs which saw them slump to their third defeat in six outings, and fall behind Australia and Sri Lanka in the points table.

While the Australians lead the points table with 14 points from five matches, the Lankans with the same number of matches lie second with 11 points, and India who have played an extra game find themselves at third place with 10 points.

The Indian innings got off to a shocker of a start, when stand-in captain Virender Sehwag lunged out to a wide delivery by Lasith Malinga off the very second ball; the result was a fine running catch by Nuwan Kulasekara at third man which sent Sehwag back in the hut for a duck.

Sachin Tendulkar - like so many times on the current tour - looked to be in imperious touch at the start of his innings. Some glorious shots on the off side followed by a delightful flick off the pads seemed to have set the tempo before he chopped one on to his stumps on 22, in an attempt to leave one from Kulasekara (38 for 2).

Gautam Gambhir who had struck four boundaries during his innings of 29, was the next to go. The left-hander - batting way outside his crease in an attempt to unsettle the bowler - only succeeded in unsettling himself as he played away from his body, and Thisara Perera at gully took a fine catch diving forward to give Kulasekara his second wicket.

Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina then put on 92 for the fourth wicket with the aid of Dinesh Chandimal fielding at deep midwicket, who dropped a couple of sitters to the relief of the Indians.

However, Farveez Maharoof provided his team with the all-important breakthrough by sending back a well-settled Raina. Raina made 32 off 55 balls before he guided a ball that bounced on him into the hands of Lahiru Thirimanne at short cover. Kohli, who had brought up his 20th ODI fifty, followed suit soon after for 66 when he perished to Perera, with Kulasekara at mid-on taking a simple catch off a mistimed pull shot.

It was an uphill task and a downhill battle for India from then on but Irfan Pathan with a few lusty blows down the order gave his side an outside chance of an unlikely victory. With wickets falling at the other end, Irfan soon ran out of options and was the last man to fall when he hit one straight back to Perera who finished with figures of 4 for 37 off 7.1 overs.

Earlier, Thirimanne struck his maiden half-century in his fifth ODI, and Tillakaratne Dilshan contributed with 51 as Sri Lanka finished with a highly competitive total of 289 for 6. Mahela Jayawardene and Dilshan put on 95 for the first wicket before Jayawardene fell for 45 to Irfan.

Wickets at regular intervals got the world champions back in the match before the Lankans added 94 runs in the last 11 overs as the Indian bowlers failed to come up with the goods. How helpless captain Sehwag felt in the middle was epitomised in the 50th over when Kohli was called up to bowl the last six deliveries which went for 14 runs.

Sri Lanka thrash Australia by 8 wickets for first win

Sydney: Mahela Jayawardene smashed an unbeaten half-century to lead Sri Lanka to a commanding eight-wicket win over Australia and back into limited-overs tri-series finals contention on Friday.

Australia were bowled out for just 158, their lowest ODI total at the Sydney Cricket Ground since 1997, after the match was reduced to 41-over innings due to a two-hour rain interruption.

Faced with an amended victory target of 152 after adjustments made under the Duckworth-Lewis Method, the Sri Lankans wasted no time in aggressively chasing down their first win of the tri-series.

Jayawardene carried his bat for 61 not out off 67 balls as the Sri Lankans reached the winning total in just the 25th over.

"We needed a start," Jayawardene said. "I have done opening before, and thankfully it worked today. We knew we had to win today."

India lead the series by a point from Australia, while Sri Lanka, with a bonus point, are only two behind the host side.

Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan shared an almost run-a-ball 74-run opening partnership as the Australia bowlers failed to make an impression.

Dilshan made 45 off 41 balls before Clint McKay (1-23) finally make a breakthrough when he had the opener caught at slip by David Hussey in the 12th over.

Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara then shared 59 runs until Sangakkara was caught by Xavier Doherty at mid-on off Brett Lee (1-42), leaving Sri Lanka requiring 21 runs with 20 overs remaining. Sangakkara had 30 off 29 balls, and became the 10th man to pass 10,000 ODI runs, and the third Sri Lankan.

David Hussey's aggressive 58 off 64 balls was the sole highlight for Australia's innings as the hosts were dismissed two balls short of their 41 overs.

Man of the Match Thisera Perera returned figures of 2-29, as well as being responsible for a run-out. Farveez Maharoof had 2-18 and took the important catch of opener David Warner.

"The pitch didn't have the sort of pace we thought it had, and their bowlers capitalized," stand-in captain Ricky Ponting said. "Full credit to Sri Lanka, they bowled and fielded really well, and played their shots in the chase."

Hussey shared a 49-run, ninth-wicket partnership with tailender Mitchell Starc (17) which saved Australia from total capitulation.

Warner made just 13 before being caught by Maharoof off Lasith Malinga (1-42) and Ponting faced just 10 balls before being caught and bowled by Maharoof for 2.

Wade was run out on 15 in the next over thanks to some athletic fielding from Perera at short-cover.

Michael Hussey was caught behind off Angelo Mathews (1-26) for 13, before Maharoof claimed his second wicket when he had Peter Forrest caught by Mathews for 16.

Perera trapped Dan Christian lbw for 6 to leave Australia at 81-6 when rain interrupted play.

Clint McKay faced just eight balls after the resumption of play before he was out lbw to Rangana Herath (1-12) for 3 and Brett Lee failed to score before he was run out.

Australia meet India on Sunday in Brisbane.

Australia hold on for narrow win over Sri Lanka

Perth: Australia won their second consecutive tri-series match with a tense five-run win over Sri Lanka at the WACA Ground on Friday.

Following their opening win over India last Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia had some anxious moments in the final over.

Sri Lanka, chasing 232 for victory, looked out of the match after slumping to 180-9 in the 45th over. But a 36-run partnership between vice-captain Angelo Mathews (64 runs off 76 balls) and tailender Dhammika Prasad (15 not out off 11) lifted Sri Lanka to within sight of a late victory.

Sri Lanka needed 18 runs off Mitchell Starc's final over, but the task became a more realistic eight off four balls after Mathews hit a four then a six straight down the ground. Needing six off the final two balls, Mathews went for the big hit to win but got underneath the short delivery too much and was caught by Dan Christian in the deep.

Sri Lanka were all out for 226 in 49.5 overs, after bowling out Australia for 231 with five balls to spare, suffering their second straight loss in the tournament.

Australia captain Michael Clarke, who hit 57 runs, claimed the wicket of Dinesh Chandimal (37) at an important time. Spinner Xavier Doherty also played a key role, taking 2-24 from 10 overs.

Allrounder Dan Christian, who scored 33, took two wickets.

Australia will be looking to win their third tri-series match in a row when they play India (1-1) at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

Sri Lanka were in control at 61-1 in the 15th over before paceman Clint McKay ran out Kumar Sangakkara for 22. After playing McKay to short square leg, Sangakkara slipped mid-pitch after being sent back by batting partner Tillakaratne Dilshan. That was all the time needed by McKay, who scooped up the ball and threw down the stumps in the one motion to find Sangakkara well short of his crease.

Dilshan didn't last much longer before edging Ryan Harris through to the wicketkeeper for 40.

Earlier, five Sri Lanka bowlers took two wickets each. In temperatures that nearly reached 40 degrees Celsius, Clarke was the only Australia batsman to notch a half-century as Sri Lanka's bowling attack thrived in the Perth heat.

Mathews snared the key wickets of David Warner and Clarke, while Lasith Malinga, Prasad, Nuwan Kulasekara and spinner Sachithra Senanayake also had two wickets each.

Clarke combined with Christian (33) to lift Australia from 130-5 to 186-5, but their dismissal within four runs of each other - followed soon after by the demise of Ryan Harris - left Australia at 192-8. Tailenders McKay (25) and Starc (14) ensured Australia posted a competitive total.

McKay was the last man out on the first ball of the final over when Lahiru Thirimanne - running with the flight of the ball - snared a diving catch just inches short of the square leg boundary.

Brothers Mike (23) and David Hussey (27) failed to make the most of their starts for Australia.

3rd Test: SA close in on series win

Cape Town: South Africa closed in on a long-awaited first home series win since 2008 as it reduced Sri Lanka to 138-4 in its second innings in the decisive third Test at Newlands on Thursday, still more than 200 behind.

Returning from injury, seamer Vernon Philander took four wickets on day three as South Africa rolled Sri Lanka out for 239 in its first innings and then made telling inroads in the second after forcing the tourists to follow on.

With two days to play, Sri Lanka still needed 203 just to make South Africa bat again after the Proteas' daunting first innings total of 580-4 declared. Its best batsmen — Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene — had all been dismissed twice.

Philander had 3-46 and 1-24 but South Africa's bowlers all contributed to their 12 wickets in the day to leave Sri Lanka with little hope of saving the Test and the series, which is level at 1-1.

Fast bowler Dale Steyn returned 3-56 in the first innings and began South Africa's productive day with a wicket in the first over.

Morne Morkel and legspinner Imran Tahir had three wickets each and Jacques Kallis broke a 67-run partnership between Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne early in Sri Lanka's second innings to keep South Africa on top in a Test the home team has dominated from the start.

Sri Lanka looked almost certain to slide away to a fourth series defeat in four tours to the country — despite a historic win in Durban in the second Test — while South Africa neared a first series success at home since beating Bangladesh over three years ago in sight.

With Sri Lanka solid overnight on 149-2 in its first innings, Sangakkara flashed a wide Steyn delivery straight to point off the third ball of the third day to begin a surprising slump where the tourists lost 8-90 in 34.5 overs on a pitch that was still expected to favor batsmen. Sri Lanka surrendered a first-innings deficit of 341.

Philander continued South Africa's momentum with the early wicket of captain Dilshan for 5 in the second innings and, despite the stubborn stand between Sangakkara and Thirimanne, South Africa also managed to dismiss leading batsmen Sangakkara (35 and 34) and Jayawardene (30 and 12) twice in the day.

Angelo Mathews was 28 not out with three fours and Thilan Samaraweera unbeaten on 19 at stumps in an unbroken 40 run partnership that appeared to only delay South Africa's march to victory.

Dilshan made 78 in Sri Lanka's first effort in the only half-century so far by a visiting batsman in the match, but he was already out late on Wednesday when Steyn and Philander ran through the tourists on day three.

Bustling right-arm fast bowler Philander continued his impressive start to Test cricket — after missing the defeat in Durban with a left knee injury — by taking his tally to 28 wickets halfway through his fourth Test.

Top-ranked Test bowler Steyn removed top-ranked batsman Sangakkara as well as Jayawardene and Mathews in the first innings as South Africa's attack put to bed thoughts that a flat Newlands pitch might see them struggle to take 20 wickets to win the Test.

Legspinner Tahir also capitalized on turn and unpredictable bounce to bowl Thisara Perera with a big-turning legspinner in his 2-54 in the first innings.

He worked out Sangakkara in the second with a googly that took the edge of the left-hander's bat and fell to Kallis at slip.

In between, home favorite Kallis — whose career-best 224 dominated South Africa's first innings score — produced enough bounce off the pitch to have Thirimanne out to a bat-pad catch by Hashim Amla that ended solid resistance from the left-handed opener and broke Sri Lanka's only meaningful partnership of the day.