Karunaratne’s maiden fifty not enough to stop an Australian win

The Sri Lanka team that won the five-match ODI series against Australia 3-2 pose with the trophy

Player of the Series Kusal Mendis

 Alex Carey carried Australia to victory with an unbeaten innings of 45

• Sri Lanka take 5-match ODI series 3-2 

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Player of the Match Chamika Karunaratne celebrates his maiden ODI fifty

Chamika Karunaratne’s maiden ODI fifty was not enough to stop Australia from pulling off a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a low scoring fifth and final ODI played to another packed R Premadasa Stadium yesterday.

With the five-match series already won by Sri Lanka who came to this game with a 3-1 lead, the win was some consolation for Australia ahead of the two-Test series starting at Galle on 29 June.  

Sri Lanka who won the toss for the first time in the series and elected to bat first were dismissed for 160, and despite some anxious moments during the run chase, Australia managed to get to the target losing six wickets with wicket-keeper Alex Carey keeping a cool head, to play a crucial innings of 45 off 65 balls to take his team home without further damage to the already faltering innings.

Carey shared in partnerships of 51 with Marnus Labuschagne (31) and an unbroken stand of 43 off 45 balls with Cameron Green (25*) to see Australia through after they had lost the first three wickets for 19 on a tough slow pitch where spinners were dominant.

Sri Lanka took wickets at crucial phases of the game but their total of 160 was insufficient to defend especially when they had only two specialist spinners in the side in the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga (rested) and Dhananjaya de Silva (unwell).

Sri Lanka replaced Hasaranga with seamer Pramod Madushan who took his maiden ODI wicket when he dismissed Mitch Marsh for 24. Pick of the Lankan bowlers was teenage spinner Dunith Wellalage with three wickets.

For the first time in the series the Sri Lankan batting was in shambles as they collapsed to 85-8 due to some disciplined bowling and sharp fielding by the Australians that resulted in two run outs.

It needed a plucky knock from energetic all-rounder Karunaratne to give the Sri Lankan total some respectability after the Australian quicks Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins had run through the top order reducing Sri Lanka to 34-3 inside the power play. 

Then spinners Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Kuhnemann took over from there onwards with the part time spin of Labuschagne to strangle the middle order as Sri Lanka slipped to 85-8 and looked in danger of being bowled out for their lowest total against Australia – 91 at Adelaide in 1985. 

However, Karunaratne in the company of debutant Madushan saved Sri Lanka from further embarrassment with a stand of 58 off 101 balls for the ninth wicket that saw them to their final total.

Player of the Match Karunaratne playing a lone hand struck eight fours and two sixes in his run-a-ball knock of 75 which would have done immense good to his reputation as an all-rounder in the white ball format. Madushan stuck it out for 52 balls for 15 runs before offering Cameron Green a return catch. Hazlewood, Kuhnemann and Cummins all returned excellent figures with two wickets apiece.

Kusal Mendis with 249 runs was named Player of the Series.

At the end of the match, the Australian cricketers led by Aaron Finch did a lap of honour in appreciation of the support extended to them by the spectators, the majority of whom wore yellow to thank them for coming to Sri Lanka when the country was going through a severe economic crisis.