Lanka crush Aussies, reach ICC Trophy final

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka sent the Australian invincibility for a huge six at the Premadasa Stadium here on Friday, in the process proving to the world that their numero uno status was not so much as acquired by them as conceded by others; that they were worldbeaters because of the inefficiencies of the rest; that they looked different because they innovated while others aped; that they fell flat whenever others did something they had no clue to.
All it required to prove this was one team and one match. And there could have been no better side at the moment than Sri Lanka — one of the most innovating and exciting teams in the world — and no better stage than the ICC Champions Trophy called the Mini World Cup.
That it came in home conditions does not wean away any credit from the hosts. If anything, the seven-wicket victory only reiterates the superiority of the Lankans who had handed a similar drubbing to the Kangaroos here when they met last three years ago.
When Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore said on the eve of the semi-final that the team that wins is the team that dominates the first 15 overs in either innings, the underlying message was: There is a big hole beneath the Australian top order and a huge void after their opening attack. Perhaps only Ricky Ponting got this message, for he was not being modest, as everyone thought, but realistic when he observed that the gap between his team and others was not much.
Sri Lanka exposed this in no uncertain terms by having the Australian top order all packed up by the 13th over and later demolishing the myth of an impregnable pace attack.
It was yet again the slow bowlers who proved Australias nemesis, accounting for seven of the eight wickets falling to bowlers. Australia folded up for 162 in the 49th over, their lowest ever against the Lankans. The previous low, 168, was again in Colombo.
The domination with the ball was so profound that Sri Lankan batsmen did not need to exercise too much of it while batting. Yet they finished the match with ten overs to spare. And, Jayasuriya went about the task in his inimitable style, hitting up 42 runs in 51 balls, leaving for Marvan Atapattu (51) and Kumar Sangakkara (48) the simple task of guiding the side home and into the final.
The battle of oneupmanship began as early as the third ball when Jayasuriya threw down the stumps at the non-strikers end with a direct hit from mid-on. Gilchrist managed to scurry home for a single, but that set the standards for Sri Lanka’s fielding for the rest of the innings. The Lankans saved at least 30 runs in the field, besides the two brilliant run outs.
The Australians came up trumps in the early skirmishes with their cheeky singles and Gilchrists fireworks. He punched the ball twice through the well-fortified offside field to stamp the seal of early ascendancy that was endorsed by the scoreboard — 42 without loss after five overs.
The islanders couldnt wait any longer to open their bag of tricks. They pulled out spin first. It was not their wizard Muralitharan, but lesser light Dharmasena, followed by De Silva. Australian batsmen went quiet with suspicion. That was half the battle won for Jayasuriya. The remaining half was won by Aravinda with his fifth delivery. He took Mathew Hayden’s off stick with one that turned viciously.
Dharmasena then removed Gilchrist and Vaas struck Ponting on the pads from the same end four overs later. By now it was Aravinda in charge of things. He was setting fields for bowlers as well as deciding who should bowl and from which end. Jayasuriya seemed quite happy with the situation, occasionally giving suggestions.
The Australians, meanwhile, appeared to be in a state of confusion, caused by the frequent bowling changes and switching of ends. And they could not quite get out of the doldrums for the rest of the contest.