Australia vs Sri Lanka 4th ODI: Doherty seals series win as Lanka surrrender

Xavier Doherty

The 4^th ODI between Australia and Sri Lanka proved to be a premature decider as Australia bundled out the Lankan batting line-up for a dismal score of 132. The series leading up to this game had been a competitive one and observers had predicted that the battle would go to the last match. However, Sri Lanka chose to surrender arms as their batting showed no resolve. Upul Tharanga was the centurion for Sri Lanka in the last ODI but failed to stir another storm today. His opening partner and captain T. Dilshan could do nothing right other than winning the toss in a crucial match.

Once Brett Lee and Doug Bollinger had helped Australia make early inroads, the onus was on the experienced pair of Kumar Sangakkarra and Mahela Jayawardene to build a partnership. For a brief period of time it seemed as if the Lankans were good for a competitive score but that was not to be. Xavier Doherty fulfilled his tour’s purpose with a match-winning performance after having taken a beating in the previous two ODI’s. He bowled within his limits but growing in confidence with every wicket. The 26^th over changed the face of the game as he removed Sangakkarra and Chamara Silva within the space of 3 balls.

Mahela Jayawardene fought a lone battle at the other end and even though he completed a half-century, there were no contributions from the lower middle order. Doherty was the chief destroyer with 4 wickets and finished with impressive figures. Brett Lee continued his great comeback to international cricket with 4 wickets from just 6.4 overs giving away only 15 runs. Shane Watson and Doug Bollinger kept it tight as well evading any possibility of giving away runs in bits and pieces to the tail.

Australia stuttered in their chase more than once but with 132 runs on the board, it was only a matter of time. Shaun Marsh blocked one end and almost finished the job for Australia. Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting were consumed early on; Ponting dismissed for a duck but Michael Clarke played an innings of great accountability. His 38 runs drove the team out of a period of crisis when Prassana exposed the middle order with his exceptional spin bowling.

Dismissing three key top batsmen in an over must have had a lot of impact any other day but with Australia just 10 runs from a series win, it was undeservedly undermined. Hopefully we would see more of the same from him in the next inconsequential ODI.