Published: Feb 19, 2017, 06:52 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 19, 2017, 06:56 PM (IST)
Sri Lanka edged past Australia by 2 wickets in the second of the three-match T20I series, thanks to Asela Gunaratne‘s majestic 46-ball 84*. However, despite being 45 for 5 within 5 overs, Sri Lanka pulled off the unlikely in Simonds Stadium’s first international match (first for men, as New Zealand and Australia women had played a T20I earlier that day). With Gunaratne still at the crease, Sri Lanka’s hopes to seal a three-match series in Australia were alive. From 30 off 10 to 14 off 6 to 2 off 1, Gunaratne gradually took his team to the finishing line and bagged the series 2-0, with the last match to be scheduled at Adelaide Oval on February 22.
Sri Lanka captain Upul Tharanga suffered another failure, managing 4 off 4. He holed out straight to Jhye Richardson in the very first over off Ashton Turner. Sri Lanka then lost a wicket each in the next two overs, completely losing control in a pursuit of 174. All the same, Sri Lanka were pushed into further ruins when Andrew Tye dismissed Dilshan Munaweera and Milinda Siriwardana in the same over, with Sri Lanka needing another 129 off 94.
The onus was then on the duo of Gunaratne and No. 7 Chamara Kapugedera to steady the sinking ship. The pair did exactly what the doctor ordered and that too with distinction. While Gunaratne took a back seat, his partner Kapugedera dropped the anchor and dealt in boundaries. They added 52 runs for the sixth wicket before Pat Cummins got the better of Kapugedera. To put the visitors in pressure, James Faulkner sent Seekkuge Prasanna for a mere 7. Meanwhile, Gunaratne had upped the ante. He knew he was racing against time and went on rampage, eventually bringing up his consecutive half-century.
Though the required rate kept scaling up, Gunaratne’s presence had kept Australia on their toes. For that matter, he was adjudged Man of the Match in the series opener for his heroic 52. Given his knack of playing such heroics, Australia were mindful of the fact that they need to wrap up the tail. Nonetheless, No. 8 Nuwan Kulasekara stitched a vital 41-run stand for the 8th wicket with Gunaratne.
The match gradually went down to the wire. Sri Lanka needed 14 off the last over.
Captain Aaron Finch handed the last-over responsibility to Tye. He dismissed Kulasekara off the very first delivery. However, Gunaratne had rotated strike before Michael Klinger took a catch at cover.
With 14 needed off 5, Gunaratne hit a four off the second ball and six down the ground off the third. Two singles later, Sri Lanka needed 2 off the final ball. And for the calmness Gunaratne is known for, he eased one over cover to win a T20I series for the third time in Australia.
On the other hand, Kulasekara had fallen one wicket short of becoming only the second cricketer to take a five-wicket haul across formats. He took three wickets in the final over, bundling out Australia to 173. Amidst the quick fall of wickets in the death overs, Moises Henriques had scored an unbeaten 56. However, he could not emulate the same with ball, giving away 38 runs of 4 overs without taking a wicket.
Brief scores:
Australia 173 (Michael Klinger 43, Moises Henrqiues 56*; Lasith Malinga 2 for 32, Nuwan Kulasekara 4 for 31) lost to Sri Lanka 176 for 8 (Asela Gunaratne 84*, Chamara Kapugedera 32; Andrew Tye 3 for 37) by 2 wickets.
