AUS vs SL 4th ODI, SL vs AUS 2022

Chasing a stiff target of 259 for the win to level the series 2-2, Australia lost their skipper for a fourth ball duck as his failures continue for Australia as he was dismissed by Chamika Karunaratne. It was the David Warner show all the way as his 99 off 112 balls kept the Aussies in the hunt. Mitchell Marsh gave him support by getting a start of 26 off 27 balls. Marnus Labuschagne got to 14 off 21 balls before getting out as he was one of many players who got starts but couldn’t keep it going. Alex Carey also kept the temp with his 19 off 20 balls. Travis Head looked good out there for his 27 off 33 balls before being bowled out by Silva. Glenn Maxwell had a rare failure as he was adjudged LBW on review for just a single. Cameron Green and Pat Cummins joined together to stick it out there, but Green chopped on a Vandersay delivery for 13 off 25 balls to make the matter more difficult for the Aussies. Pat Cummins tried his best to take the game deep but he was dismissed off the penultimate over LBW to Chamika Karunaratne for 35 off 43 balls as this chase looked to be beyond the Aussies. But Matthew Kuhnemann had other ideas. With 19 required off the final over, Kuhnemann smashed 14 runs off the first five balls of the Sri Lankans skipper Dasun Shanaka as he seemed to have lost the plot. The skipper held his nerve off the final ball of the game to win it for his side in the end by 4 runs. 

From Sri Lanka's bowlers' point of view, it was mostly a trial by spin from the get-go. Chamika Karunaratne bowled 5 overs 1 maiden 2 for 19. Maheesh Theekshana bowled 10 overs 1-40. The returning Wanindu Hasaranga bowled 10 overs 1-52. Dunith Wellalage bowled only 5 overs for 29 runs and a wicket to his name. Dhananjaya de Silva bowled 10 overs 2 for 39. Jeffrey Vandersay bowled 7 overs 2 for 40 runs. Asalanka bowled an over for 7 runs. Dasun Shanaka the skipper bowled 2 overs including the final over as he ended 2 overs 1-27. They held their nerves to win a thriller by 4 runs here. 

Earlier in the game, it was Australian skipper Aaron Finch who won the toss and opted to field first on a used pitch as Finch reckoned that there may be dew under the lights. The Lankans didn’t get off to the brightest of starts as they lost Dickwella for a single to Glenn Maxwell for the second game in a row. Last matches heroes Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka fell for 14 and 13 respectively to Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh respectively as the Lankans were in a spot of bother at 34-3 after the first powerplay. From thereon, it was the Dhananjaya de Silva-Charith Asalanka show. They put on 101 for the 5^th wicket. Silva was the aggressor of the two as he got 60 off 61 balls before falling to Mitchell Marsh. Charith Asalanka carried on for his maiden ODI hundred and also scored the highest score by a Number 5 against Australia as he scored 110 off 106 balls. Wellalage contributed with 19 and Hasaranga contributed with an unbeaten 21 off 20 balls as the Lankans notched up 258 in 49 overs. They didn’t bat out the full 50 overs as some senseless batting meant they lost wickets in a flurry. Theekshana was needlessly run-out of the final ball of the 49^th over much to the frustration of Hasaranga.

From Australia’s bowlers’ point of view, Josh Hazlewood was wicketless, but he kept it tight with his 10 overs going for 45 runs. Glenn Maxwell picked up a wicket in his 8 overs for 49 runs. Kuhnemann was disappointing as he went for 56 runs in 8 overs despite picking a couple of wickets. Mitchell Marsh was good in his spell of 7 overs 1 maiden 2 for 29. Pat Cummins was brilliant on his comeback as he bowled 9 overs 1 maiden 2 for 37. We also saw Cameron Green roll his arm over for 5 overs accounting for 27 runs while Marnus Labuschagne chipped in with 2 overs for 13 runs. There were 3 run-outs that contributed to the dismissals of the Sri Lankans. But in the end, it didn't matter as the Lankans held their nerves to win by 4 runs and clinch the series. 

So, Sri Lanka wins by 4 runs to win the series 3-1 with one to play and they win a bilateral series for the first time against Australia since 1992. Stay tuned for the post-match presentation ceremony that comes your way soon. Stay tuned!