In his last innings at the MCG, the Australian vice-captain purged memories of a poor record at the most famous venue in the country with an astonishing blitzkrieg, but more than met his match as the Lankans themselves salvaged some pride from a horrendous tri-series campaign with an extraordinary 13-run win on Friday night.

That it was a dead rubber, with no impact whatsoever on the competition, mattered little in the end. Gilchrist pyrotechinics appeared to completely dwarf Sri Lanka's challenging 221 on a slowish pitch, but once they got rid of their nemesis, the 1996 World Cup champions turned the contest on its head, sparking a spectacular collapse that yielded six for 16 in just 53 deliveries.

Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken promised a final twist with a gritty 35-run stand for the last wicket, but on a day of several lasts, Sanath Jayasuriya made sure his last delivery on Aussie soil was most meaningful. The left-arm spinner's only delivery of the night defeated Lee's attempted pull and crashed into the stumps to terminate the brave fightback by Australia's two best bowlers of the afternoon at 208, sending the Lankans into delirium.

Explosion

Sri Lanka had a flight to catch no more than a couple of hours after the scheduled close of play, and it was as if Gilchrist had taken it upon himself to ensure that the visitors didn't cut it fine. The explosion that had been waiting to happen all summer materialised in front of 22,524 fans; the marauding left-hander unleashed a fury that threatened to sweep Sri Lanka off their feet as he broke into a stroke-making frenzy that was chilling and, it appeared then, decisive.

James Hopes — opening in place of the rested Matthew Hayden — had the best seat in the ground as Gilchrist set about the bowling. There were trademark crackers square on both sides, but there were also flowing drives as Gilchrist raced to 50 off just 35 deliveries, and raised the team's hundred in the 13th over. Sri Lanka were shell-shocked, Mahela Jayawardene scrambling for cover as even his most potent weapon, Muttiah Muralitharan, was being taken to the cleaners.

With Hopes too playing his part, Australia ate sizeably into the target when Murali produced a stunning doosra that clipped the right-hander's off-stump, though it needed the third umpire to confirm that. It was a blow that triggered a sensational collapse as suddenly, it was Australia who were shell-shocked. In his quest for a first one-day hundred at the MCG in five years, Gilchrist fell just short, caught brilliantly at long-off by Lasith Malinga. Waking up to the fact that they were in with a chance, Sri Lanka swarmed all over their opponents.

Mounting pressure

Nuwan Kulasekara, playing instead of Chaminda Vaas, and Ishara Amerasinghe joined hands to break the back of the Aussie batting. Between them, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds and Mike Hussey made six runs as Sri Lanka kept the pressure up, making the most of a softening ball to tighten the screws. First alongside Brad Hogg, then with Bracken, Lee tried his best to retrieve the situation, but it was Sri Lanka who had the last laugh.

A last laugh appeared the most distant of propositions in the afternoon. The advantage of Jayawardene winning the toss was again carelessly tossed away by the top-order despite a Jayasuriya cameo that didn't deliver what it promised; at 61 for four, a familiar story appeared to be unfolding when the captain decided to take things into his own hands.

Bracken's parsimony had allowed Australia to attack relentlessly at the other end, but once the left-arm swing bowler was taken off after a first spell of 8-3-9-1, Sri Lanka breathed easy. Jayawardene played an intelligent innings, putting the bad balls away and working the good ones into the gaps, though he ran like a scalded cut and had several close shaves.

The first rescue act involved the skipper and the busy Tillakaratne Dilshan, lightning quick between the wickets and with an eye for the unusual, as 64 (74b) came for the fifth wicket. Dilshan and Chamara Silva, demoted to number seven after a string of failures, added a further 60 (75b) for the sixth; Silva shed his woeful trot with a cheeky 35 to push Sri Lanka past 200 for only the second time in the competition. Despite Gilchrist's murderous assault, it proved enough this time, unlike at the Adelaide Oval ten days back against India. If only just!