Not a fitting farewell
There were reasons for Sri Lankan fans to cheer at the third ODI in Dambulla. But the result wasn't one of them. On a day when Tillakaratne Dilshan was farewelled from one-day international cricket, and Dinesh Chandimal scored his fourth ODI hundred, Australia held on for a tense victory that gave them a 2-1 series lead with two to play - and gave David Warner a 100% success rate as an international captain.
Not that it was all smooth sailing. Chasing 227, Australia relatively cruised most of the way. At 187 for 4 they needed only 40 more runs, with George Bailey and Matthew Wade both well set, but suddenly Sri Lanka's spinners came into the game. Four wickets fell in quick time and it was beginning to look like Australia might find a way to throw it away. It was Adam Zampa who struck the winning runs, a boundary behind point off Amila Aponso, and a single next ball.
It wasn't any old single - it was cut in the air towards extra cover, where Angelo Mathews hurled himself into the air to try for a one-handed catch. The ball didn't stick, and the result was sealed: a two-wicket win, though with four full overs remaining.
The 39-year-old Dilshan, who announced on Thursday that he was retiring after the Dambulla ODI, scored a 65-ball 42 before falling to leg-spinner Adam Zampa.
Dilshan, who recorded 10,290 runs in 330 ODIs with 22 hundreds and 47 half-centuries, acknowledged the cheers of a raucous home crowd as he walked back to the pavilion.
Chandimal, who has recorded five half-centuries and a ton in the last seven ODI innings, registered his fourth ODI century to keep the hosts in the hunt after they were reduced to 178 for eight.
SCORES IN BRIEF
SRI LANKA: 226 all out in 49.2 overs (Dilshan 42, Chandimal 102; Starc 2-42, Hastings 2-41, Faulkner 2-44, Zampa 3-38)
AUSTRALIA: 227-8 in 46 overs (Finch 30, Bailey 70, Wade 42; Mathews 2-30, Aponso 2-44, Perera 2-45)
Result: Australia won by 2 wickets.
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