Published: Jan 18, 2013, 07:21 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 18, 2013, 07:21 PM (IST)
Sri Lanka overcame nervousness to beat Australia by four wickets in the third ODI at Brisbane, and take a 2-1 lead against the hosts in the five-match series on Friday.
Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga ripped apart the Australian batting line-up as an inspired Sri Lanka shot out the hosts for a paltry 74 in 26.4 overs, and chased down the target in 20 overs but not before losing more than half of their side.
Kushal Perera remained unbeaten on 22 off 28 balls and Tillakaratne Dilshan scored 22 off 33 to lead Sri Lanka's reply.
Mitchell Johnson led Australia's pace attack with the figures of 3-0-11-3, while Mitchell Starc, who earlier contributed with the bat, bagged 2/25 off his seven overs.
The first innings total of 74 is Australia’s lowest total in ODI cricket against the island nation and their second lowest overall.
Australia, who elected to bat after winning the toss, suffered a batting collapse and were bowled out for 74 in just 26.4 overs.
Kulasekara claimed five wickets for 22 runs from his 10 overs, while Malinga bagged three for 14 off his seven overs.
