Match Report

After having been sent in to bat by a confident Arjuna Ranatunga, Australia has progressed speedily to a score of 0/27 at the end of 5 overs. Again in instictively aggressive touch, Adam Gilchrist has raced to 15 whilst a generally struggling Mark Waugh has made 10.

Playing in front of a predictably large crowd and in ideal sunny conditions, Gilchrist and Waugh both began a little nervously. Waugh's first two scoring shots were both played involuntarily in the air just wide of the gully region from the bowling of Chaminda Vaas and Gilchrist scored the first boundary of the morning when he outside edged Pramodya Wickremasinghe through a vacant second slip position in the second over of the day. In trademark style, Gilchrist has since opened his shoulders and hit some tremendous strokes, with one blazing square drive to the cover point boundary off Wickremasinghe in the second over being the highlight. Other than one excellent cover drive off the same bowler in the fourth over, Waugh has been much more subdued.

For the Sri Lankans, Vaas has been bowling a tidy line (and even generating some unexpected swing in an environment appearing to offer little encouragement to him) and he beat Waugh's groping bat repeatedly during a superb third over of the day. By contrast, Wickremasinghe - as he was yesterday - has been both wayward and expensive to this stage.

Moments before the toss, it was announced that Sri Lanka's Aravinda De Silva is still not fully fit and therefore not able to lend his considerable talents today to his team's reinvigorated campaign in this competition. Although nothing is likely to detract from its truly incredible win over England yesterday, the team has also been taken aback by the unfortunate news that left arm paceman Nuwan Zoysa will have to return home because he has sustained stress fractures in his back. Australia's injury toll also shows no signs of abating; Steve Waugh and Michael Bevan are out - replaced by Stuart Law and Damien Martyn. On another front, New South Welshman Simon Taufell and South Australia's Steve Davis - neither of whom has ever called Sri Lankan off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing - have been installed as the umpires.

Batsmen continue to dominate in Adelaide

Highlighting the fact that the Adelaide Oval is continuing to serve as a batting paradise in this weekend's games in the Carlton & United Series, Australia has dashed to a commanding score of 1/97 at the end of the first 15 overs of its match against Sri Lanka this afternoon. Despite losing the vital wicket of their outrageously attacking opener Adam Gilchrist (41), this has been an excellent start from Australia and one that has them extremely well placed to post a massive target. Mark Waugh is currently on 44 and Brendon Julian - who has been sent in to continue the impetus by playing a swift attacking innings - has reached 9.

Characteristically, Gilchrist was in sparkling attacking form and constantly on the lookout for runs. Striking the ball spectacularly over and through the Sri Lankan field, he proved to be in devastating form and delighted a big and partisan crowd with a stunning array of well timed shots. Three of his strokes off Chaminda Vaas - one lofted to wide long on for four in the seventh over; another pulled for four through square leg two overs later; and another clouted for six over mid wicket in the eleventh over - remain especially clear in the memory. He surrendered his wicket when he ambitiously tried to blast Pramodya Wickremasinghe over mid on and presented Muttiah Muralitharan the chance to catch a steepling ball as he back-peddled a short distance outside the thirty metre circle.

Whilst it may seem surprising given that the start has been such an impressive one on the scoreboard, it has to be said that Waugh has generally battled with his timing and not played anywhere near his best. He has rarely found the middle of the bat, bottom and inside edging repeatedly. The New South Wales right hander was also slightly fortunate to survive with his score on 10 when he inside edged a ball from Wickremasinghe in the sixth over just past his stumps and the grasping gloves of wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana. Nevertheless, there have been signs in recent overs - foremost among them one extraordinarily arrogant shot smashed (as he moved away to a position outside off stump) to the mid wicket boundary off Wickremasinghe in the thirteenth over - that he may rapidly be becoming more comfortable.

For the Sri Lankans, the early signs are that they will be in for another huge run chase tonight. Other than Wickremasinghe's success, it has been a tough afternoon for them to date.

Sri Lanka's spinners lead a mini-fightback

Led by the accuracy of their spinners, an indomitable Sri Lankan side has begun to counter a flying start from Australia in the ninth match of the Carlton & United Series at the Adelaide Oval this afternoon. Having extracted the vital wickets of Adam Gilchrist (for 41) - and more recently those of Brendon Julian (21) and Mark Waugh (57) - the consistently improving Sri Lankans now have the Australians at a score of 3/137 at the halfway mark of their innings. South Australians Greg Blewett (13) and Darren Lehmann (1) are the not out batsmen.

After a blazing start, the innings has slowed in tempo during the course of recent overs courtesy of two rash strokes from Julian and Waugh. Tied down to some extent by an attack working feverishly (and a captain continually shuffling his field and engineering bowling changes) to restrict their run scoring rate, the home team's batsmen have noticeably been forced to steady their innings and to revert from a policy of all out attack to one of consolidation.

The big hitting Julian was dismissed - after making a quickfire 21 off 15 balls - when he ventured down the wicket at leg spinner Upul Chandana only to hit over and outside the line of the ball as it pitched just short of a length and straightened to hit off stump. Interestingly, Chandana struck in his first over - the eighteenth of the Australian innings - in the midst of a period during which Arjuna Ranatunga made five bowling changes in six overs as he searched for the appropriate formula of wicket taking and containment.

Things worsened for the Australians when Waugh (57) then lazily top edged a sweep shot into the waiting hands of Chandana at short fine leg off Muttiah Muralitharan. Although he was a long way from his best form today, Waugh's innings was nevertheless a solid one and his departure was understandably gleefully accepted by the Sri Lankans. As for Muralitharan, his day with the ball has been a mixed one. Commencing from the Cathedral End, the troubled Sri Lankan off spinner looked ill at ease at first and bowled just six balls (during which he was collared for 13 runs - six of which came from a huge blow over mid wicket from Julian) before being removed from the attack. But after returning a short time later from the River Torrens End, he settled into a better line and length and capped his improvement with Waugh's wicket.

In that period of ten overs, there was also some minor umpiring drama when Steve Davis elected not to refer a stumping appeal against Blewett off Muralitharan in the 22nd over to the third umpire. Although TV replays showed the batsman had just survived, the decision proved much closer than the judgement of Davis had initially made it appear.

Australia pinned down by Sri Lanka's slow men

With just 10 overs remaining, there is a sense now at the Adelaide Oval that Australia's batsmen will need to fire during the closing part of their innings if they are to work their way into a winning position against Sri Lanka at the Adelaide Oval this afternoon. Following a higly enterprising opening, the Australians have gradually been pinned down by their opponents and, after losing Greg Blewett (40) in the 39th over, currently find themselves at the relatively modest score of 4/207 on a tremendous batting pitch. Darren Lehmann is on 40 and Damien Martyn 3.

Again in excellent form, Lehmann has done the majority of the recent scoring for his team. He has played predominantly through the V between mid off and mid on but his innings - as always - has also been underpinned by some audacious attacking blows. The stocky left hander, who has made a half century in each innings he has played so far in this tournament, murderously hit one full ball from Muralitharan into the square leg fence on the full and not long afterwards played the cheekiest of reverse sweeps to third man off Sanath Jayasuriya in the 35th over.

Blewett, meanwhile, again hinted at his susceptibility to quality spin bowling, not only scoring slowly but also desperately struggling to find his timing and often yorking himself as he sought to smother any turn by advancing down the wicket. Although the wicketkeeper's task was made considerably more difficult by the extent of the bounce the ball extracted, he was particularly lucky to survive (on 25) when he was the beneficiary of a missed stumping chance by Romesh Kaluwitharana off Muttiah Muralitharan in the 30th over. His demise ultimately came when he gloved an attempted sweep off a fast wide ball down the leg side from Sanath Jayasuriya into the keeper's still not altogether sure hands.

As for the Sri Lankan bowlers, they have performed brilliantly during the middle overs of this innings. Together with some well placed fields which have restricted the Australians' opportunities to plunder shots into and over Adelaide's short square boundaries, skipper Ranatunga has rotated the slow bowling quartet of Upul Chandana (1/33 off 8 overs), Jayasuriya (1/30 from 7), Mahela Jayawardene (0/10 off 2) and Muralitharan (1/36 off 8), to great effect and they have each responded well.

Sri Lanka restricts a disappointing Australia

After initially appearing set to concede a gargantuan total for the second time in successive days at the Adelaide Oval, Sri Lanka's bowlers have fought back strongly to gain the upper hand by the halfway mark of the ninth match of the Carlton & United Series today. Despite being set on their way by some inspiriting attacking batting by Adam Gilchrist (41off 36 balls), Australia was unable to take full advantage of some magnificent batting conditions, essentially losing its way to be bowled out for 270 from the last ball of its 50 overs.

Australia suffered most from the inability of any of its batsmen to compile a big individual score. Mark Waugh (57), Gilchrist (41) and Darren Lehmann (40) all looked to be capable of playing a substantial hand but gave their wickets away unnecessarily, whilst a struggling Greg Blewett also failed to make the most of reaching 40. The team also hurt badly from its incapacity to string together a partnership through the final ten overs. Lehmann (out for 40 when he lofted Upul Chandana to Muttiah Muralitharan at deep square leg); the recalled Stuart Law (8), who ambitiously attempted to take a second run on the arm of Marvan Atapattu at deep backward point; Shane Lee (comprehensively bowled by a Chaminda Vaas slower ball for 20); Shane Warne (who lobbed a wild slash to Tillekeratne at cover off Vaas to be dismissed for a duck); Adam Dale (also out for 0 after being bowled by Sanath Jayasuriya); and Glenn McGrath (who holed out to Mahanama at mid wicket off Vaas for 2) were all dismissed late in the innings.

Whilst the Sri Lankans will need to guard against complacency and the prospect of a let-down after their breathtaking display with the bat last night, they are deservedly on top at this stage of the contest after a fine bowling exhibition. Although the pitch did not appear to yield great turn, their spinners were in command today, slowing their opponents' early momentum with some excellent guile and control. In an even effort from their slow bowlers, Chandana (2/44 off 10 overs) and Jayasuriya (2/48 from 10) were arguably the most penetrative. Paceman Vaas also fought back well from eighteen highly expensive overs earlier in the weekend with some excellent bowling at the death. And it is finally worth noting that Muralitharan (1/51) bowled ten drama-free overs today.

McGrath stuns the Sri Lankan top order

Energized by some fine pace bowling from spearhead Glenn McGrath, Australia has made a magnificent start to its defence of a moderate total of 270 in the opening 10 overs of the crucial ninth match of the Carlton & United Series against Sri Lanka at the Adelaide Oval this evening. Operating from the River End, McGrath has bowled with fire and aggression to take three early wickets and set his opponents right on their collective heels. The Sri Lankans find themselves at 4/40; Hashan Tillekeratne (3) and Arjuna Ranatunga (0) the men at the wicket.

McGrath has softened the Sri Lankan top order with some hostile bowling and a diet of well aimed short pitched deliveries. He started his heroics by inducing the diminutive right hander Romesh Kaluwitharana (9) to launch a wild cover drive at a wide ball and to provide Adam Gilchrist with the chance to take a smart diving catch from an inside edge. The New South Wales paceman set up a second wicket for himself by first conceding a no-ball to shake Marvan Atapattu (0) with a fierce rising bouncer and then pressuring him into offering a straight forward catch to Shane Warne at slip as he attempted to defend the next delivery - a ball bowled fractionally under shoulder height over the line of off stump. And, in the seventh over, he opened an even more devastating wound for the Sri Lankans, forcing Sanath Jayasuriya (12) to uneasily prod another short ball to Brendon Julian running in from point. When McGrath's opening partner, Adam Dale, had last night's centurion Mahela Jayawardene (9) loft a simple catch to Shane Lee on the mid wicket fence in the tenth over, Australia had confirmed that it was right back on top.

All this action had come after McGrath had experienced the dejection of taking a wicket from what appeared at the time to be shaping as yet another highly consequential no-ball. Overstepping marginally, he produced an outswinger which rattled the base of a comprehensively beaten Kaluwitharana's off stump from the second ball of the innings.

For as poor as Sri Lanka's start has been, however, this innings is beginning to bear a few similarities with their effort of yesterday. With Adelaide still offering benign conditions for batting, and with Tillekeratne and Ranatunga - two players who figured strongly in the triumph over England - still at the crease, the match is far from over.

McGrath tears Sri Lanka apart

Shattered by the loss of six quick wickets, Sri Lanka is attempting to fight a desperate rear-guard action as their match against Australia continues at the Adelaide Oval this evening. Destroyed by a deadly career best bowling effort from Glenn McGrath, the reigning World Cup champion has slumped to a perilous 6/73 after 20 overs. The experienced but sadly out of form Roshan Mahanama is on 15 and Upul Chandana has 9.

McGrath (5/40 from 10 completed overs), whose concentration on short pitched balls at times has bordered on the excessive, has intimidated the Sri Lankan batsmen into consistent error. After inducing the dismissal of Romesh Kaluwitharana (9) with a pitched up delivery, he has now removed a further four batsmen - Marvan Atapattu (0), Sanath Jayasuriya (12), Arjuna Ranatunga (0) and Hashan Tillekeratne (10) - with some lethal bounce from an Adelaide pitch which had previously appeared to yield little in the way of bowling assistance. During the last ten overs, the two men to fall were Ranatunga (who fended a viciously rising ball to Brendon Julian at backward point) and Tillekeratne (who was, in a sense, unlucky to be dismissed when Mark Waugh involuntarily dropped him at second slip from another edged steepler only to miraculously send the ball straight into the waiting hands of Shane Warne to his right).

Whilst his effort has almost been forgotten amid the clatter of wickets at McGrath's end, Adam Dale (1/31) has also bowled a fine ten over spell for his team. In fact, Dale's only real mistake tonight came when he dropped a straight forward running catch offered from a rash Mahanama hook shot to deep square leg in the thirteenth over. As it turned out, however, the ball had been ruled illegal for having been directed over the height of Mahanama's shoulders.

Regardless of whether they can salvage their pride in the remainder of the clash, there have been a number of worrying signs for the Sri Lankan camp tonight. They have completely failed to counter some hostile fast bowling and have made an inglorious follow-up to their amazing batting effort of yesterday. And even more ominously still, their general inability to come to terms with McGrath's intimidatory display must be set within the context of the fact that they play their next two matches in this tournament at the WACA ground in Perth - where the pitch is notorious for being Australia's fastest.

Chandana and Mahanama lead a gradual Sri Lankan recovery

Although they are in the process of constructing a solid mid-innings revival, Sri Lanka continues to struggle in its bid to accumulate 271 runs for victory in its match against Australia in Adelaide tonight. With 30 overs gone, their score is 6/140; Roshan Mahanama rediscovering some of his lost form with a handy 41and Upul Chandana adding to his growing reputation with a steady hand of 38.

Whilst Mahanama and Chandana have worked hard, registering easily the best partnership of the innings with their stand of 87 for the seventh wicket, their team still faces a monumental task to recover their lost ground in this game in the wake of a steamrolling spell of fast bowling from Australia's Glenn McGrath. Although Mahanama has worked the ball cleverly square of the wicket and Chandana has driven beautifully, it remains particularly difficult to foresee how they can score at well in excess of the rate of a run a ball for the remainder of the match with only four wickets in tact. In fact, this encounter is beginning to bear a number of similarities with Sri Lanka's disappointing batting effort against England in match six of this Carlton & United Series in Melbourne last Tuesday.

For as well as they played through the opening openers, though, it does need to be said that Australia has lost its way a little over the last half hour. Whilst there is not yet any serious suggestion that their dominance in this game will be genuinely challenged by the Sri Lankan lower order, there has been some indifferent bowling from Shane Warne (0/30 off 5 overs) and Brendon Julian (who has conceded six no balls while taking 0/37 off 5 overs) and the occasional misfield in recent overs.

Lee and Blewett push Australia close to triumph

Two wickets in successive balls in Shane Lee's opening over - the 31st of the innings - have pushed Australia ever closer to a resounding victory in its one-dayer against Sri Lanka in Adelaide tonight. Slowed again by Lee's removal of Upul Chandana (for a well-made 38) and Chaminda Vaas (for a first ball duck) and later by Greg Blewett's dismissal of the resilient Roshan Mahanama (who batted well for the first time in this series to score a defiant 55), Sri Lanka is stationed at 9/180 at the 40 over mark of its innings. With defeat imminent, Pramodya Wickremasinghe is at the crease on 20 and Muttiah Muralitharan is with him on 3.

The impressive Chandana lost his wicket when he was trapped shuffling across his stumps by a ball bowled just short of a good length by Lee. Then from the next ball, Chaminda Vaas outside edged an attempted off drive through to the safe hands of Adam Gilchrist. Although Lee was unable to remove Wickremasinghe in order to complete a hat trick, his effort was enough to earn him a warm ovation from an Adelaide crowd taking particular pleasure from Sri Lanka's demise. Matters worsened considerably in the 40th over - also Blewett's first - when Mahanama finally lost concentration and was bowled.

For the two Sri Lankan batsmen left to fight this game out, the task of even getting close to the Australian target seems a hopeless one. But it has nevertheless been a resolute fightback from the Sri Lankan team after it had plunged headlong into crisis at 6/53 in the 15th over.

In one interesting sidelight to this match, it has been announced that Arjuna Ranatunga will be required tomorrow to attend a disciplinary hearing convened by the International Cricket Council in the wake of yesterday's dramatic proceedings in the match against England. And in another: during the 37th over of this innings, there was yet another unsavoury crowd-inspired disruption to play in a match in this series when a Mexican Wave ensured that the perimeter of the ground was littered with a stream of debris.

McGrath wrecks Sri Lanka to easily lead Australia home

In a dismal sequel to the astonishing match played at the same venue yesterday, Australia has defeated Sri Lanka by the comfortable margin of 80 runs in the ninth game of the Carlton & United Series at the Adelaide Oval tonight. Led to victory by a ruthless display of pace bowling from Glenn McGrath (5/40), Australia's score of 270 was never seriously threatened after Sri Lanka plunged dramatically to the lethargic position of 6/53 in the 15th over.

Although the Sri Lankan lower order, led by Roshan Mahanama (55) and Upul Chandana (38) fought hard to finally establish some respectability to the scoreboard, their team was in trouble from the moment that the man of the match winning McGrath initiated his blitz by grabbing the vital early wicket of Romesh Kaluwitharana (9) in the third over of the innings. Spurred by the ill-fortune of yorking Kaluwitharana off a no ball from the second ball of the innings, McGrath was in ferocious mood, mixing occasional swing with a barrage of short pitched deliveries that caught the Sri Lankans off guard. In ten consecutively bowled overs, he reduced his opponents to calamity, forcing Kaluwitharana, Atapattu (0), Jayasuriya (12), Ranatunga (0) and Tillekeratne (10) back to the pavillion in quick succession. Before a huge and thoroughly satisfied audience at the ground, he deservedly surpassed his previous best figures (5/52 against Pakistan in Lahore in 1994/95) in a one day international with a frighteningly hostile display.

Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka had appeared to put itself in a winning position by restricting Australia to the seemingly modest score of 270 in ideal batting conditions after inserting their opponents in a repeat of their successful tactics of yesterday against England. With their spinners operating to a plan and bowling a disciplined line and length, the Sri Lankans reined the Australians in after Adam Gilchrist (41 off 36 balls) had again ensured that his team got away to a cracking start. Whilst Mark Waugh (57), Darren Lehmann (40), Greg Blewett (40) and Damien Martyn (33 not out) also made valuable contributions, the effort did not seem to afford security against a highly capable Sri Lankan batting order.

In short, this was a highly disappointing display from a Sri Lankan batting line-up that should have had this match at its mercy. Whether their performance was simply an incompetent one against a sharply bouncing ball, or a let-down after yesterday's heroics, or even a mixture of the two, the effort does not bode well for the future of their campaign in this competition. Now one win adrift of Australia and two wins away from England with only four preliminary matches remaining, they must head to the notoriously fast and bouncy WACA pitch in Perth to revive an again teetering crusade.

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