Australia 305 for 5 (Lehmann 119, Hayden 64) beat Sri Lanka 163 (Lee 3-23, Watson 3-27) by 142 runs
Scorecard

Christmas is a-coming and Australia are fully into the festive mood. Fresh from a week's break and invigorated by the prospect of a new team to humiliate, Darren Lehmann led the way with his third one-day century, as Sri Lanka were crushed by 142 runs in their first meeting of the season.

It was a feeble effort from Sri Lanka, who once again played the part of Ebenezer Scrooge to perfection. Faced with a total of 305 for 5, their batsmen penny-pinched their way to 163 in 43 overs, falling short of their bonus-point target by 81 runs. All interest in the innings had evaporated by the 14th over, after a blistering new-ball spell from Brett Lee and a brief interruption for a violent burst of rain.

But, `tis the season to be jolly, so there could be only one choice for Man of the Match. Lehmann had been promoted twice in one day – first to the vice-captaincy, then to the top of the order – and responded with an innings of audacious improvisation and uninhibited skill.

He added 162 for the first wicket with Matthew Hayden; Michael Bevan and Shane Watson chivvied the tail with a quick-witted 52-run partnership, and Sri Lanka resigned themselves to their third defeat in a week.

Deadly square of the wicket, Lehmann's raw power was matched by deft placement. His smear for six over midwicket was so brutal that only Hayden himself could have emulated it, while at the other end of the spectrum, one extraordinary backflip for four over the keeper's head was straight out of Doug Marillier's copybook.

For once, Hayden started with a hint of uncertainty, but with Lehmann blazing away at the other end, he contented himself with ambled singles and the occasional bludgeoned four. Until, of course, he celebrated his 50 with a vast on-driven six off the long-suffering Gunaratne.

Sanath Jayasuriya eventually made the breakthrough, when Hayden clipped straight to Mahela Jayawardene at midwicket (162 for 1), and Sri Lanka – to their credit – whittled their way through the middle order. Ricky Ponting was bowled by Prabath Nissanka for 17 (202 for 2), Lehmann deflected Nissanka into his own stumps for 119 (213 for 3), and Russel Arnold brightened up a drab fielding effort with two fine catches (252 for 5). But Bevan's common-sense nurdling and Watson's eager thumping put a full-on recovery out of Sri Lanka's reach.

With Brett Lee straining at the leash on his favourite ground, Sri Lanka had every right to be apprehensive. Marvan Atapattu led a charmed life – though he might not have seen it that way. He should have been run out in the third over, and moments later he fended a 95mph bouncer straight back to Lee – only for it to be called no-ball.

Atapattu eventually underedged Glenn McGrath to the keeper for 15 (24 for 2), and all hope was lost when Lehmann capped his day with a superb one-handed return catch to dismiss Mahela Jayawardene (60 for 4).

All that remained was for Kumar Sangakkara and Romesh Kaluwitharana to play two of the most out-of-character innings you will ever see. For a time, while they were adding 78 for the sixth wicket, that bonus point was a distant prospect. But Lee soon returned to gift-wrap the innings.

Teams
Australia
1 Darren Lehmann, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Bevan, 6 Shane Watson, 7 Ryan Campbell (wk), 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Andy Bichel, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Glenn McGrath.

Sri Lanka
1 Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), 2 Marvan Atapattu, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Russel Arnold, 6 Jehan Mubarak, 7 Romesh Kaluwitharana (wk), 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Pulasthi Gunaratne, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Prabath Nissanka.

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