By CricketCountry Staff
Australia mauled Sri Lanka by five wickets in the fourth One-Day International match to seal a 3-1 series win over the hosts. After dismissing Sri Lanka for 132, Australia chased down the target in 28 overs with five wickets in hand.
Published: Aug 20, 2011, 08:32 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 20, 2011, 08:32 PM (IST)
Shaun Marsh struck 11 boundaries and a six in his innings of 70 off 80 balls © AFP
By CricketCountry Staff
Colombo: Aug 20, 2011
Australia mauled Sri Lanka by five wickets in the fourth One-Day International match to seal a 3-1 series win over the hosts in the five-match series. After dismissing Sri Lanka for 132, Australia chased down the target in 28 overs with five wickets in hand.
Lasith Malinga rocked Australia early dismissing Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting in quick succession, but a 97-run partnership for the third wicket between Shaun Marsh and skipper Michael Clarke revived the tourists.
Australia looked set to win the game by eight wickets, but debutant Seekkuge Prasanna brought some smile on the Sri Lankan faces by claiming three wickets in four balls.
Marsh played a fine innings of 70 off 80 balls, studded with 11 boundaries and a six.
Clarke remained unbeaten on 38.
Earlier, Xavier Doherty and Brett Lee grabbed four wickets apiece as Australia dismissed Sri Lanka for 132. Left-arm spinner Doherty finished with a career-best 4-28 and paceman Lee with 4-15 to boost their team’s hopes of clinching the five-match series.
Sri Lanka were 95-3 following a 71-run stand for the third wicket between Mahela Jayawardene (53) and Kumar Sangakkara (31) before losing their last seven wickets for 37 runs.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 132 all out in 38.4 overs (Mahela Jayawardene 53, Kumar Sangakkara 31; Brett Lee 4 for 15, Xavier Doherty 4 for 28) lost to Australia 133 for 5 in 28 overs (Shaun Marsh 70, Michael Clarke 38*; Seekkuge Prasanna 3 for 32, Lasith Malinga 2 for 18) by 5 wickets.
Man of the Match: Xavier Doherty
