Sri Lanka’s Chamika Karunaratne took three wickets, including the crucial wicket of Glenn Maxwell, to begin the Australian collapse as the hosts leveled the series by winning the rain-hit second one-day international by 26 runs on Thursday (June 17). Chasing 216 in 43 overs, Australia were reeling at 123-3 when spinner Dunith Velalez (2-25) struck Karunaratne (3-47) and Dushmantha Chamira (2 -19) in front of a packed home at Pallekele in Sri Lanka. ensured victory.
“Chamika is a born warrior. Whenever I throw the ball to him he delivers,” said Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka. “Same with Dushmantha. Even on the field the attitude and concentration are classy.”
Player of the match – Chamika Karunaratne #SLVAUS #CheerForLions pic.twitter.com/LiCSggCv4Y
— Sri Lanka Cricket (@OfficialSLC) 16 June 2022
Australia’s top seven all came into double digits but failed to kick off, with both Velalez and Dhananjaya de Silva (2-26) doing a good job of suppressing them in the middle overs on the slow pitch. “People started and didn’t convert and that was the difference. It was unfortunate,” said Australian captain Aaron Finch. “Chasing the target in these conditions where the wicket is slow and spinning is something we need to keep improving on,” he said.
before, Australia chose to field and restricted Sri Lanka to 220-9 in 47.4 overs before rain ended the innings prematurely. For the hosts, Kusal Mendis top-scored with 36 while Pat Cummins scored 4-35. The third match of the five-match series will be held in Colombo on Sunday.
Brief Score: Sri Lanka 220/9 (Kusal Mendis 36, Dhananjaya de Silva 34, Dasun Shanaka 34; Pat Cummins 4/35, Glenn Maxwell 2/35, Matthew Kuhneman 2/48) bt Australia 189 In 37.1 overs (David Warner 37, Glenn Maxwell 30; Chamika Karunaratne 3/47, Dushmantha Chamers 2/19, Dunith Velalez 2/25, Dhananjaya de Silva 2/26)
(with Reuters inputs)