At the R. Premadasa Stadium here on Friday, Sri Lanka put up a strong show, bowling Australia out for their lowest-ever ODI total in Asia to conclude a sweeping 3-0 series and secure a 174-run triumph. As the visitors prepare for the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy, the victory was a landmark one, marking Sri Lanka's largest-ever margin of victory over Australia in ODIs.
Australia's batting weaknesses were cruelly exposed as they fell to just 107, their eighth-lowest score in ODI history, after being set a target of 282. With the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates in a few days, Steve Smith's team, who had come to Sri Lanka on a high after winning the Test series 2-0, had a spectacular collapse.
Kusal Mendis' brilliant performance, which included a magnificent century to lead the innings, was the foundation of Sri Lanka's triumph. With 11 boundaries and a measured 101 off 115 balls, he gave the middle-order the ideal foundation on which to build.
Following Pathum Nissanka's early defeat, Mendis and opener Nishan Madushka, who scored a cool 51, stabilised the innings.
Leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha went wicketless in his maiden ODI in over 17 months as Australia's spinners failed to control Sri Lanka's hitters. The only spinner to take a wicket was Adam Zampa (1/47), while Glenn Maxwell and Matt Short had little luck.
Captain Charith Asalanka gained control in the closing moments, quickly smashing an undefeated 78. Janith Liyanage (32* off 21) provided him with strong support as they put on an important 66-run partnership that helped Sri Lanka reach 281/5.
Australia's top order struggled right away to reach a competitive score. Australia was at 33/3 after Travis Head's run-a-ball 18 was cut short, and Jake Fraser-McGurk (9) and Matt Short (2) once again failed to make an impression.
The wicket fell for Australia after the wicketkeeper batsman, who took the position of captain Smith and Alex Carey, contributed a crucial 46 runs for the fourth wicket. Though he didn't choose Wanindu Hasaranga's googly delivery to get tapped out, Smith, 29, looked promise.
Dunith Wellalage, who took four wickets for 35, dominated Inglis at the age of 22.
The innings took a dramatic turn after that. No batter outside of the top five reached double figures as the middle and lower order collapsed under constant pressure. Australia was bowled out for a miserable 107 after losing their final seven wickets for a mere 74 runs.
But the hosts took the lead early in the game thanks to Asitha Fernando's opening spell. After taking two wickets in the opening ODI, the right-arm bowler proceeded to wreak havoc in the top order. He started by angling on the stumps and cleaning up Matt Short with a decent length delivery. At a score of two, Short was discovered in front of stumps after attempting a pull shot.
Jake Frases-McGurk, whose troubles with the bat persisted, was later removed by him. With a score of nine, Asalanka caught him mid-off. Travis Head was hit by a short ball after hitting three boundaries in Fernando's first over.
Australia has serious top-order worries as the Champions Trophy approaches. Fraser-McGurk's troubles persisted as he fell for the sixth time in his seven-match ODI career within the first five overs.
Brief scores:
Australia was defeated by 174 runs at 107 all out in 24.2 overs (Steve Smith 29, Josh Inglis 22, Dunith Wellalage 4-35, Wanindu Hasaranga 3-23) by Sri Lanka 281/4 in 50 overs (Kusal Mendis 101, Charith Asalanka 78; Sean Abbott 1-41, Ben Dwarshuis 1-47).
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