Local hero Adam Gilchrist scored a fairytale century in a man-of-the-match performance that lifted Australia to victory in their tri-series one-day game against Sri Lanka at the WACA yesterday.
After his 118 helped the hosts make 236 from 49.4 overs, Sri Lanka blew the chance to go top of the tri-series ladder when several batsmen threw their wickets away as they were dismissed for 173 in the 46th over, giving Australia a 63-run win.
Kumar Sangakkara anchored the Sri Lankan chase with 80 and was the last man to fall, but received no support and could do little but watch as poor shots cost wickets at the other end.
The tourists' last five men fell for just 14 runs as they handed Australia a bonus point and top spot on the ladder.
Spinner Brad Hogg (2-41) rocked Sri Lanka with two wickets in as many balls, seamer Nathan Bracken claimed 3-31 and Mitchell Johnson led the Australian fightback with the ball, taking 3-29.
But the match was all about Gilchrist, the 36-year-old left-hander quitting international cricket at the end of the series and playing his final innings at his home ground.
The wicketkeeper-batsman was given an emotional farewell when he eventually fell in the 44th over, holing out to Chamara Kapugedera at mid-off from a leading edge off impressive speedster Lasith Malinga.
He had faced 132 balls, hitting nine fours and three sixes to notch up his 16th one-day century, Australia winning every match in which he has reached three figures.
When he brought up the milestone with a push to long-on for a single off Muttiah Muralitharan, it was the signal for a celebration.
The crowd rose as one, a "Gilly" chant went up around the ground and Gilchrist savored the moment, gesturing repeatedly to teammates, family and the crowd in what became an extended break in play.
Gilchrist did not produce the fireworks of his 57-ball Test century at the same venue just over a year ago, or his 104-ball 149 against the Sri Lankans in the World Cup final. But his century yesterday still took just 117 balls and 172 minutes.
His timing was impeccable from the moment the innings began and there were still shots that were vintage Gilchrist, most notably a big six straight down the ground off Farveez Maharoof and another over square leg off Nuwan Kulasekera to bring up his 50.
He attempted to lift the tempo after reaching his ton, lofting another massive six over backward square leg off Kulasekera before Malinga finally struck.
Gilchrist lacked support as the Australians lost their way after being well-placed at 171 for two.
He teamed up with Michael Clarke (43) to add 105 for the third wicket, but the Australians were never able to accelerate the scoring, losing their last eight wickets for just 65 and their last four wickets for four, seemingly handing Sri Lanka the initiative.
With Malinga troubling Australia with his pace to snare 4-47, it was the second successive match the home side had failed to last the allotted 50 overs.
Opener Matthew Hayden failed to deal with a sharp rising delivery from Malinga and made just four, a score matched by Andrew Symonds, while captain Ricky Ponting looked in better touch but guided a Chaminda Vaas delivery straight to first slip on 25.
Clarke suffered bruised ribs when struck by a Malinga delivery and was unable to field.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB