Pathum Nissanka scored a brilliant maiden one-day international (ODI) century as Sri Lanka stunned Australia to go 2-1 up in the third ODI on Sunday.
Set a tricky 292 to win after a Travis Head 70, the hosts won comfortably with nine balls to spare in Colombo, in their second straight victory in the five-match series.
Glenn Maxwell bowled Niroshan Dickwella for 25, but helped by the dew, Nissanka and Kusal Mendis ground down the injury-depleted Australian attack of Josh Hazlewood, Jhye Richardson and Matthew Kuhnemann.
Photo: AFP
Mendis retired hurt unbeaten on 87 off 85 balls and was replaced by Dhananjaya de Silva who made 25, but Nissanka clung on until almost the end, caught off Richardson for 137 off 147.
Richardson then skittled captain Dasun Shanaka for a duck, but Charith Asalanka — with an ice-cold six in the penultimate over off Hazlewood — and Chamika Karunaratne saw Sri Lanka home.
“In the dressing room, we talked about tempo and awareness, and they delivered,” Shanaka said. “It is a great chance for this team to pull out a series win.”
“The heat and humidity were a challenge for both teams, but we handled it to our advantage,” the 24-year-old Nissanka said.
“The wicket seemed to get a little bit better. It wasn’t stopping as much in the surface, but all credit to Sri Lanka — that was a great run chase,” Australian captain Aaron Finch said. “It was quite clinical, particularly Nissanka. That was a very classy innings. And Kusal [Mendis], we know the quality of player he is.”
Earlier, Australia braved a spin onslaught to reach 291-6 in their 50 overs after winning the toss and opting to bat first.
Opener David Warner went for 9 in the third over and Mitchell Marsh, back from injury, struggled to get going and departed for 10 off 23 deliveries.
Marnus Labuschagne and Finch added 69 before Labuschagne was stumped off Jeffrey Vandersay for 29, and Finch edged the same bowler to slip two overs later, having made 62 off 85.
Head and Alex Carey added 72 before de Silva trapped Carey leg before wicket, while Maxwell hit 33 off 18, but became Vandersay’s third scalp, miscuing the spinner to Dunith Wellalage scurrying back from midwicket.
However, Head stayed firm, reaching his half-century and punishing Wellalage with three sixes in the penultimate over and ending 70 not out off 65 deliveries.
Vandersay ended with figures of 3 for 49.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS