A stuttering Sri Lanka, their batting again in a shambles, had limped to 77 for four in 29.3 overs, chasing Australia’s sub-modest 184 for seven, when the skies opened up. Needing to have been 102 to be ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis system, Sri Lanka thus slumped to their fourth defeat in this tri-series, by 24 runs. With five full points from this win, the Aussies now have 22, while the Lankans stay on six, six behind India.
As insipid as their batting has been all tournament long, a lot of the blame for Sri Lanka’s disappointing display on Friday must lie with the surface.
As one-day pitches go, this was easily the worst of the summer, sluggish and two-paced. Australia struggled in the afternoon despite Mahela Jayawardene gifting them the best batting conditions of the day; Sri Lanka followed suit under lights, at no stage looking like making a match of it.
Top-order collapse
For the sixth straight game, Australia’s celebrated top-order crumbled like a pack of cards. The discipline of the Sri Lankan bowling, complemented by the blunting of their focus through their pre-occupation with the Indian Premier League (IPL), lured Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and million-dollar man Andrew Symonds to their doom, leaving the in-form Michael Clarke and the combative Mike Hussey to haul the side out of the mire.
Australia’s place in the finals is well and truly secure, but unless they clean up their batting act, they will suffer sooner rather than later. Adam Gilchrist’s fifth-over dismissal, giving Chaminda Vaas the charge and losing leg-stump, triggered the slump; Hayden was frustrated by Vaas and a vastly improved Farveez Maharoof, who bowled ten overs on the trot despite a rib injury and picked up two for 20, while Ponting failed to make the most of being dropped on nought by Tillakaratne Dilshan off Vaas.
An exceptional stop on his followthrough, diving to his right, and an accurate throw to Kumar Sangakkara to catch Ponting short of his ground came as the icing on the cake for Maharoof, who hit a purple patch. His height enabled him to procure bounce — which undid Symonds — while he also jagged the ball around. Not bad for someone who was a last-minute retention!
Without the same impact as Maharoof, veterans Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan too were outstanding; parsimonious and probing, they kept the pressure on. Consequently, the Clarke-Hussey rescue act had to perforce be controlled rather than counter-attacking, and not merely  because of the team’s predicament.
Stabilising act
In deference to the conditions, both men worked the gaps rather than bring out the big strokes. Clarke was the more industrious and assured, while man of the match Hussey provided the stability as gradually, Australia neared respectability through the 90-run (126b) fifth-wicket stand. Just as he was beginning to shed the shackles, Clarke drove a Muralitharan full toss straight back to him soon after his third fifty of the series; Australia never found any momentum after that, though Hussey’s undefeated 64 marked by intelligent placement and brilliant running meant the bowlers had something to operate with.
Sanath Jayasuriya’s disastrous tour continued as he fell first ball, edge-driving Stuart Clark to second slip, while Rudi Koertzen’s fading skills accounted for Dilruwan Perera, an inside-edge on to pad counting for nothing. Old pros Jayawardene and Sangakkara attempted to repair the damage gamely, but Australia’s bowling was as spot-on as the Lankans’ had been, and their ground fielding a lot sharper and committed.
Consequently, the skipper and his deputy had to resort to frenetic, danger-ridden running to ensure the board didn't come to a standstill. Jayawardene, the busier of the two, looked to have made his peace with the pitch and the bowling when he tamely poked Nathan Bracken to Gilchrist. It seemed to throw Sangakkara completely off gear; laboured and troubled, he finally leading-edged a half-pull off James Hopes to cover, and took with him any remaining hopes of a Lankan victory.
The anaemic rate of scoring, coupled with the loss of wickets, meant Sri Lanka were well behind the eight-ball by the time the rains arrived. Nothing short of two handsome wins — and a mini-miracle! — will sneak them through to the finals ahead of India.