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Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from S.Africa/Kenya (Dialog logo)

CENTURION, Friday - Sri Lanka were first battered by the Aussie batsmen and then rocked by their pace blitz as they crashed to a 96-run defeat in a World Cup Super Sixes match played at Supersport Park here today.

World champs Australia ran up a formidable total of 319-5 off 50 overs and then simply ran through the Sri Lankan batting to dismiss them for 223 in 47.4 overs.

It was a clinical and thoroughly efficient performance by the Australians who knew exactly what they were doing. The only change to what was a perfect script for them was Aravinda de Silva.

Playing in his final World Cup before retiring from international cricket, the 37-year-old batting maestro took hold of the fearsome Aussies bowling to carve out a magnificent 92 off 94 balls which had all the hallmarks of a great batsman which he is. He laid into Australia's fastest bowler Brett Lee hitting him for 27 runs off his last two overs to spoil his final bowling figures. Lee who fired out the Sri Lankan top order with an opening spell of 3 for 25 off eight overs, eventually finished with figures of 3 for 52 off 10.

De Silva was most unfortunate to miss out on a memorable World Cup century before his departure from international cricket. Having hit four sixes and nine fours, he was out to left-arm spinner Brad Hogg putting up an easy return catch. The 15,000 spectators who gave him a standing ovation were fortunate to witness this magnificent innings because Hayden dropped De Silva at point before he had scored. He got off the mark after 14 balls with his trademark shot - a hooked six to midwicket off Bichel. From then onwards for the next two hours or so it was vintage De Silva.

Sri Lanka were never in with a chance after losing the services of skipper Sanath Jayasuriya who had his left forearm severely bruised and his left thumb chipped by Lee's express deliveries. They slumped to 48-4 in the 14th over and it was De Silva's brilliant innings that kept them afloat until the 48th over.

De Silva had support from Kumar Sangakkara (20) who helped him add 52 off 78 balls for the fifth wicket and Chaminda Vaas (21), who added 44 off 63 balls for the sixth. But the most entertaining stand came between De Silva and Dilhara Fernando (9) who put together 54 off 40 balls for the ninth wicket.

More than the defeat, the most disturbing news from Sri Lanka's point of view is the injury to Jayasuriya who is likely to be ruled out of the next game against India on Monday and possibly for the rest of the World Cup with a suspected hairline fracture on his left thumb.

Jayasuriya was hit on his left forearm by an express delivery from Lee that was timed at 150.8 kilometres an hour in only the second over of the innings and was forced to retire hurt with his score on one and Sri Lanka on six. Although the X'rays didn't show any fracture but only severe bruising on his forearm, what it showed was a suspected hairline fracture on his left thumb, a result of taking another blow a few balls earlier in the same over off Lee. Jayasuriya did not come to resume his innings, but his injury was a big body blow to Sri Lanka for the rest of the tournament.

For Sri Lanka to have a glimmer of hope to beat the Australian total, they needed a big innings from Jayasuriya, although of late he has discarded his all out assault from the first ball which he has become renowened for around the world. But nevertheless his presence in the middle was vital for Sri Lanka to have a semblance of a chance.

It was quite obvious that from the first ball the Aussies were going to give it everything they got and blast out the Sri Lankan top order which would eventually put paid to them mounting up any challenge even later in the innings. They achieved their objective through McGrath and Lee and having pushed Sri Lanka onto the back foot they had only to roll out the overs as the Sri Lankan asking rate assumed improbable proportions.

Jayasuriya's enforced retirement saw the floodgates being opened for the Aussies as both McGrath and Lee bowled with pace like fire to rattle the batting. Marvan Atapattu, who scored a fine century in the last game against South Africa looked in good touch once again scoring 16 off 24 balls with three fours until Lee forced him into error with a quicker delivery which took the top of Atapattu's bat and ended in a return catch to the bowler.

Lee was in a devastating form as he went on to pick out the out-of-form Mahela Jayawardene for a third ball duck, and then trapping Russell Arnold in front of the wicket for one as Sri Lanka slid to 48-4 in the 14th over. Jayawardene's continued poor form will have to be reviewed seriously by the tour selectors. He seems to have lost all confidence in his batting and it would be better if he is left out and someone like Jehan Mubarak given the opportunity against India on Monday. But the injury to Jayasuriya may again alter that thought.

McGrath, for most of the time out done by Lee's success, bowled with great accuracy and was rewarded for his persistency with Tillakaratne's wicket. Tillakaratne was beaten for pace and had his off bail knocked off. He made 21 off 41 balls.

With Harvey and Andy Bichel taking over from McGrath and Lee, the bowling became a little more easier to take on and De Silva and Kumar Sangakkara batted with more freedom. But the asking rate kept on rising and at the halfway mark it became quite evident that Sri Lanka would have to put up an extraordinary display of batting if they were to overhaul the Australian score.

Australia came up with a powerful batting display to put the Sri Lankan batting under severe pressure.

Winning the toss and batting first on a perfect batting pitch and fast outfield, Australia powered by an exciting knock of 99 off 88 balls from vice captain Adam Gilchrist and an equally brilliant innings of 114 off 109 balls from skipper Ricky Ponting, went on the rampage to tear apart the Sri Lankan bowling which, with the exception of off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was made to look rather ordinary.

Under pressure from the Australian onslaught, Sri Lanka made vital mistakes on the field more so by wicket-keeper Sangakkara who missed out stumping Ponting before he had entered double figures and at 34 when he failed to break the wicket on the first attempt for a run out with the batsmen yards out. These two costly misses proved detrimental to Sri Lanka as Ponting went on to complete his 12th one-day international century off 96 balls inclusive of six fours and four sixes.

After Gilchrist had set the tone for the innings with his blazing knock which comprised 14 fours and two sixes, Ponting took over from his vice captain to decimate the bowling to all parts of the ground. He raised a 112-run third wicket stand off 95 balls with Damien Martyn before departing in the 46th over top edging a pull to Sangakkara who made good ground to his left to hold it.

Sri Lanka got their initial breakthrough courtesy of umpire Bill Bowden when he ruled Darren Lehmann caught off bat-pad by Tillakaratne at forward short leg off Muralitharan in the 13th over. TV replays suggested that Hayden (22) was unlucky, but his dismissal ended a promising opening stand of 75 off 78 balls between him and Gilchrist. However the pair had given Australia the start they needed to launch their innings.

Talking of luck, Gilchrist looked in complete control and in sight of what would have been his ninth one-day hundred. He was dropped on 96 by Muralitharan at point off Fernando, but as fate would have it he was not destined to reach his century.

After Ponting had called him for a second run, Gilchrist was brilliantly run out by Vaas' direct throw from deep midwicket, one short of his hundred.

Martyn hit only one four in his innings of 52 off 58 balls, but it at least ensured that Australia's run rate remained over six an over. In his final over, Fernando picked up two easy wickets as the Australian batsmen tried to add as much runs to the total. He finished with three for 47, but went at over five an over.

Jayasuriya tried to juggle his bowlers around as he did successfully against South Africa. But on this occasion he was up against a well-oiled batting machine which had little or no chinks in its armour. When the Aussies took apart Jayasuriya's most successful bowler in the tournament, Vaas, he was left with little options to stem the flow of runs. Vaas went for 59 runs in eight overs without a wicket, and his sorry figures told the whole story.

      Australia:
      A. Gilchrist run out                      99
      M. Hayden c Tillakaratne b Muralitharan   22
      R. Ponting c Sangakkara b Fernando       114
      D. Martyn b Fernando                      52
      D. Lehmann c De Silva b Fernando          10
      I. Harvey not out                          5
      M. Bevan not out                           1
      Extras: (lb4, w5, nb7)                    16
      Total: (for five wickets)                319

      Fall of wickets: 1-75, 2-181, 3-293, 4-313, 5-314

      Bowling: Vaas 8-0-59-0, Gunaratne 6-0-46-0, 
               De Silva 5-0-36-0, Muralitharan 10-0-47-1, 
               Arnold 2-0-21-0, Fernandon 9-0-47-3, 
               Jayasuriya 10-0-59-0
      Overs: 50

      Sri Lanka: 
      Marvan Atapattu c and b Lee               16
      Sanath Jayasuriya retired hurt             1
      Hashan Tillakaratne b McGrath             21
      Mahela Jayawardene c Gilchrist b Lee       0
      Aravinda De Silva c and b Hogg            92
      Russel Arnold lbw b Lee                    1
      Kumar Sangakkara run out                  20
      Chaminda Vaas lbw b Hogg                  21
      Muttiah Muralitharan c Lee b Lehmann       4
      Dilhara Fernando lbw b McGrath             9
      Pulasthi Gunaratne not out                15

      Extras: (b6, lb8, nb3, w6)                23
   
      Total:                                   223
   
      Fall of wickets: 1-42, 2-46, 3-47, 4-48, 5-100,
                       6-144, 7-149, 8-203, 9-

   
      Bowling: McGrath 9.4-1-25-2, Lee 10-1-52-3, 
               Harvey 7-0-29-0, Bichel 7-1-32-0, 
               Hogg 9-1-45-2, Lehmann 5-0-26-1
   
      Overs: 47.4

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