Sri Lanka and Australia will play the final game of their ODI series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The match is effectively a dead rubber, as the tourists lead the five game series by 3-1, following their comprehensive victory 6-wicket victory at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Wednesday.
Despite playing the ODIs on a series of pitches that have favoured the slow bowlers, of which the hosts have a surfeit, the No.1 ranked tourists have been able to win the series mainly thanks to the efforts of their own bowlers, and in particular their seamers, who with one exception in the second ODI, have been able to restrict the home side to scores of just over 200. Thereby making the challenge facing the visitors batsmen just about manageable.
In fact, the series clinching win, was the most comprehensive of their three successes. Reaching the target of 213 for the loss of just four wickets, as Aaron Finch got them off to a flyer, with an 18-ball half century, the quickest in Australian ODI history. His opening partnership with stand-in skipper David Warner brought an amazing 74 runs in just 5.3 overs.
Sri Lanka will be without their captain Angelo Mathews for the final ODI and the two T20I’s that follow, after tearing a calf muscle while batting during the fourth ODI.
All-Rounder Thisara and the left-arm spinner Lakshan Sandakan have also been left out of the squad for the fifth ODI. The selectors have drafted in two batsmen, Upul Tharanga and Niroshan Dickwella, as well as all-rounder Dasun Shanaka in their places.
After the heroics of the Test series, when the home side knocked the Australians off of the No.1 world ranking, it may just have been too much to expect them to down the World Champions in an ODI series immediately afterwards. Especially a side whose pride had been hurt so badly.
