Adelaide: Australia clinched the cricket tri-series title as they relied on a spirited bowling display to beat Sri Lanka by 16 runs in a low-scoring thriller here on Thursday.
After posting 231 all out on a difficult Adelaide Oval track, the hosts rode on pacer Clint McKay’s five-for to stop Sri Lanka at 215 in the third and deciding final.
Upul Tharanga hit 71 to help the islanders recovered from early jolts and almost put his side on track for a win but the Sri Lankans lost the plot after his dismissal to give the Australians a victory with seven balls to spare.McKay was Australia’s hero, making a critical 28 batting at number nine and then claiming five for 28 which broke the visitors’ back. The Sri Lankan top order failed and hard as the other batsmen rallied, it was not enough to win them the day. They lost too many wickets up front and were 53 for four in the first powerplay of 10 overs itself. (PTI)
