Sri Lanka vs Australia, 1st ODI: Mitchell Starc’s 100-wicket milestone and other highlights

Australia’s Mitchell Starc became the fastest bowler to take 100 wickets, achieving the milestone in his 52nd match.

Australia finally found themselves at the doorstep of victory, as they beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets in the first One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. After the disgraceful whitewash in the Test series, Australia were mindful that they have to play out of their skins to get the better of the rampaging hosts. And they did exactly the same! Clinical in the bowling department and gritty with the bat, this win will help them regain confidence and avenge the Test series whitewash. Let’s walk through the top highlights of this beauty of a contest:  FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Sri Lanka vs Australia, 1st ODI at Colombo (RPS)

Mitchell Starc adds another feather to his cap: Australia’s star bowler became the fastest bowler to take 100 ODI wickets by achieving the milestone in his 52nd match. So far in his short yet illustrious career, he has pocketed 11 four-wicket hauls, which is the most by any bowler while reaching 100 wickets. However, Starc picked up three wickets in the match, laying the foundation for his team.

Dinesh Chandimal plays an innings of substance: With veterans Tillakarantne Dilshan and Angelo Mathews failing to provide impetus, the onus was on Chandimal to steady the innings and take Sri Lanka to a safe total. Despite losing wickets at the other end, Chandimal kept dealing in ones and twos and kept the scoreboard ticking, so much so that he scored only three boundaries in his 80-run knock.

James Faulkner’s match-winning performance: His bowling skills require no introduction. Left-arm medium pacer with a lethal back-of-the-hand delivery, he has number of variations up in his sleeves. And he used them to good effect, as he grabbed a vital four-for along with the Man of the Match award. All the same, Faulkner dismissing Angelo Mathews on duck changed fortunes towards Australia. Also read: Steven Smith, James Faulkner guide Australia to 3-wicket win against Sri Lanka in 1st ODI

Steven Smith displays resilience: When others failed to find their feet against spin, Smith rose to the occasion and took the bull by its horn. After losing Aaron Finch, Sri Lanka pit all the spinners against Smith to get the better of him. He did struggle; few balls beat the outside edge; he was often found inside-edging the ball; he even edged one to the first slip. But he stood rock solid amid fierce spin bowling, scoring 58 off 92 balls.

Should Sri Lank have introduced frontline spinners early? Aaron Finch went great guns right from the word go. He lofted over the infield anything that was pitched up, plundering 56 off 46 balls. However, given the ball turned square, introducing either of the three spinners instead of part-timer Tillakaratne Dilshan early would have had Australia in trouble.

(Kaustubh S. Mayekar, a reporter at CricketCountry, played cricket at U-16 level. Like his idol Rahul Dravid, he often shadow-practises cricket shots. His Twitter handle is @kaumedy_)

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