Sri Lanka’s spinner Dunith Wellalage took four wickets, helping his team secure a comprehensive 174-run victory over Australia in Friday’s second and final ODI.
The result saw Australia bowled out for a meagre 107, their lowest ever total in Asia, in pursuit of a target of 282.
Australia, fielding a much-changed lineup to test their options for the upcoming Champions Trophy, suffered a spectacular collapse, losing their last seven wickets for just 28 runs.
“Not the best result we wanted. We used a lot of players and everyone got a game,” Australia’s captain Steve Smith remarked. “Credit to Sri Lanka. They deserved the series win. We struggled a bit in Colombo… Their bowlers were superb.”
Asitha Fernando set the tone with a fiery opening spell of 3-23 in four overs before the spinners tightened the screws. Wellalage triggered the collapse, bamboozling Josh Inglis with a skiddy arm ball that crashed into the stumps. In his next over, he delivered another peach, rattling the dangerous Glenn Maxwell’s stumps to finish with 4-35.
Wanindu Hasaranga joined the party from the other end, taking three more wickets, including Smith, who was trapped plumb in front.
This emphatic victory sealed a 2-0 series win for Sri Lanka against the defending world champions, propelling them to fifth in the ODI rankings. It also told the cricketing world that Sri Lanka’s absence from the upcoming Champions Trophy, after finishing ninth in the 2023 World Cup, would be felt.
“Not often you beat Australia,” Sri Lanka’s captain Charith Asalanka said. “Today was our day and the spinners did a superb job. We are disappointed that we are not in the Champions Trophy... the important thing is that we don’t get into a similar situation again,” he added.
Sri Lanka’s batting had come under scrutiny in recent weeks, but the top order silenced critics with a commanding display. Kusal Mendis was the star of the show, crafting a superb 101, his fifth ODI century and first against Australia. He found ample support from half-centuries by Nishan Madushka (51) and Asalanka.
Fresh from a match-winning hundred in the opener, Asalanka bludgeoned an unbeaten 78 off just 66 balls, peppering the boundary with six fours and three towering sixes. The foundation was laid by a 98-run partnership between Kusal and Madushka for the second wicket, stabilising the innings after an early loss. Kusal then built on the momentum, stitching a 94-run stand with Asalanka for the fourth wicket.
Australia made five changes as they fine-tuned their lineup ahead of next week's Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai. Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, and Ben Dwarshuis were all included. Out went Alex Carey, Marnus Labuschagne, Cooper Connolly, Spencer Johnson, and Nathan Ellis.
