Sri Lanka’s unceremonious slump

As for team Sri Lanka, the intent just wasn’t there. Be it their bowling, fielding or batting, the fire was lacking in the body language of the team and it reflected in the way they went about with their game. Even if they would’ve hoped to turn things around in the second innings with some good partnerships and solid knocks, their hopes were extinguished by the unceremonious slump of the top and the middle order.

Both opener, Niroshan Dickwella and Upul Tharanga started off on a positive note, only to give away their wickets recklessly and Kusal Perera followed suit. From thereon, there was only one way that the game could go. Sri Lanka lost 7 wickets for just 30 runs, leading to an inevitable crushing defeat for themselves.

Yuzvendra Chahal gets a 4-wicket haul

The star bowler for the Indian side was the seemingly frail, Yuzvendra Chahal. His four-for was instrumental in steering India’s ship towards victory and he was recognised as the ‘Man of the Match’
for his efforts. Chahal took full advantage of the two-paced pitch, restricted the run flow, fielded exceptionally well on a dew-laden ground, picked up wickets at regular intervals and did not give the Lankan batsmen any opportunity to settle. His caught and bowled scalp of Angelo Mathews, in particular, was a treat to the eyes. Chahal ended the game with figures of 4-0-23-4.

Dhoni finishes off in style

If finishing the innings in style is your need, MSD is the man for your deed! The veteran batsman joined the party a little early as he came in at No.4 ahead of the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya, a move that is being hailed by fans and critics alike.

Dhoni scampered through for the quick singles, ran the 2’s hard and punished the loose deliveries for their merit. His well-paced unbeaten innings worth 39 runs off just 22 runs helped India get to a total that was beyond good on the sticky wicket of the Barabati Stadium. The 36-year old hit 4 boundaries and 1 sixer in the proceedings.

Manish Pandey joins the party

The Sri Lankan bowling attack was in for a terrible day at the office as they were knocked out of the park left, right and centre. Manish Pandey came in lower in the order than his usual spot but did not fail to deliver. His partnership with former skipper, MS Dhoni was the cement that constructed the Indian innings.

Pandey hit a quickfire 32 off 18 balls. It was Nuwan Pradeep, who got hit by Pandey for a mammoth six, followed up by a smashing boundary in the next delivery in the second last over, taking India’s total to the next beyond reachable.

Lokesh Rahul’s sensational knock

Although Indian opener, Rohit Sharma failed to contribute significantly, KL Rahul filled the void aptly. Having gone through a lull in recent times,
the swashbuckling right-hander proved his mettle with panache. He started off on a slightly slow note and paced his innings fabulously as the match progressed.

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.