Sri Lanka wins first cricket series in Australia

SYDNEY — Sri Lanka claimed their first-ever series success in Australia with a win against Ricky Ponting’s team in the rain-marred second one-day international at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.

The Sri Lankans won by 29 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method after several rain interruptions and followed their stunning one-wicket victory in the opening match in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka condemned Australia to a seventh straight international defeat in all forms of the game by scoring 213 for three off 41.4 overs and then bowling the home side out for 210 off 37.4 overs.

Opening batsman Upul Tharanga was named man-of-the-match for his unbeaten top-score of 86 while veteran spinner Muttiah Muralitharan claimed two wickets to take his career ODI tally to 517 wickets.

Ponting’s team have one more chance to break their demoralising run of losses before this month’s Ashes Test series against England in the final match of the ODI series against Sri Lanka in Brisbane on Sunday.

Tharanga showed steely powers of concentration to regroup after a lengthy rain delay to remain unbeaten in his 112-ball knock in Sri Lanka’s innings after winning the toss.

A 90-minute downpour reduced the match to 45 overs per side, but a much heavier shower later ended Sri Lanka’s innings prematurely.

Angelo Mathews, the hero of Sri Lanka’s astonishing one-wicket victory over Australia in Melbourne, remained 17 not out off 11 balls.

Sri Lanka’s openers put on 98 runs for the first wicket before Tillakaratne Dilshan was trapped lbw as he attempted to slog-sweep off-spinner Nathan Hauritz in the 20th over.

Up to that stage Dilshan had looked comfortable in compiling 47 off 57 balls with five boundaries.

All-rounder Shane Watson got a wicket in his first over when he had Mahela Jayawardene lbw for five as he attempted to pull.

After a rain delay, Kumar Sangakkara was out for 45 off 52 balls when he shaped for a square drive off Watson and top-edged to Clint McKay at third man.

Watson finished Australia’s best bowler with two for 34 off eight overs.

Sri Lanka began well with the wicket of Brad Haddin for one in the second over and then got the prized wicket of Ponting for 10 when the Australian skipper top-edged a pull shot straight to Chamara Silva at deep backward square-leg.

Watson looked dangerous before he was trapped lbw for 40 off 44 balls by the wily Muralitharan, who was playing in his 339th ODI.

Michael Clarke followed seven balls later to a tumbling catch by Muralitharan at third man off Thissara Perera for 25.

Mike Hussey (15) lofted to Mathews to give Muralitharan his second wicket of the innings.

Australia’s remote chance of pulling the game out of the fire vanished when big-hitting Cameron White was bowled off-stump for 35 by Kulasekara, leaving the home side at 155 for six.

Mitchell Johnson (23) and Steve Smith (33) went in the same over, bowled by Suraj Randiv as the game meandered to its inevitable conclusion. Hauritz (4) and McKay (6) went cheaply as Sri Lanka rejoiced a milestone triumph. (AFP)

Ponting baffled by Australia’s poor form

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia captain Ricky Ponting is baffled by his team’s poor run of form but concedes the “doom and gloom” around the team will only be dispelled when they start winning again.

Australia were outplayed by Sri Lanka in the second of three one-dayers on Friday to lose their seventh straight match in all forms of the game, just 20 days before the start of the Ashes series against England.

“There’s a lot of doom and gloom around about this team and about Australian cricket, I think we all feel a lot more positive inside the dressing room compared to what it looks like from the outside,” Ponting said.

“But we can change what it looks like from the outside by starting winning games, we’re all very aware of that.

“That’s why I’m a bit disappointed about the result tonight, I would have thought the guys would have bounced back a bit better, but we’ve got another chance on Sunday.”

Ponting missed Wednesday’s opening defeat to Sri Lanka to attend his grandmother’s funeral and will skip the final match of the series in Brisbane on Sunday to return to Tasmania and prepare for a domestic match, Cricket Australia said.

“As the series against Sri Lanka has been decided (we have) an ideal opportunity to provide Ricky with two solid weeks of red-ball cricket,” said selector Greg Chappell.

“This allows him what we believe to be the best preparation to lead the Australian test match team in Brisbane for the first Ashes test match.”

Ponting said he did not think the approach of the Ashes was behind the poor run of form.

“I don’t think any of the guys are feeling under pressure or anything like that, I can’t put my finger on why our performances haven’t been better,” he said

“Our mood’s fine but for some reason our skills are letting us down at key times.”

Returning to the theme, he conceded that perhaps the team had been guilty of “thinking too far ahead”.

“Listen, the Ashes are a fair way away yet and we’ve got to stop talking about it and thinking about it,” he added.

“We have to make sure that we’re looking at Sunday first and foremost and turning our fortunes around there, then we worry about the next game after that.”

England began their first tour match against Western Australia in Perth on Friday and the Australia captain said he would be keeping track of how they were getting on ahead of the Ashes opener in Brisbane, starting on Nov. 25.

“We’ll keep a close eye on what they’re doing and we’ll be well-prepared for Brisbane,” he said.