Khawaja is yet to play in the limited-overs portion of the tour, but will likely step into the No.3 position for Wednesday’s fourth match in Dambulla in the absence of Marsh.
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With the momentum in Australia’s favor, they go in as .74 favorites to win this match, with Sri Lanka at $2.10.
Warner’s poor form with the bat continued when he was dismissed for 10, but there were important contributions from opening partner Aaron Finch (30 off 29 balls) and Travis Head (36 off 48). To the applause of players and fans, Dilshan walked off with a bow, the owner of 10,290 ODI runs, the 11th-highest tally in history.
Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera bowled Head for 36 as batting suddenly seemed hard under lights at the Rajgiri Dambulla International Stadium.
Dilshan is retiring from the global one-day game and does so with a two-wicket defeat, despite a hundred from Dinesh Chandimal. I’m really happy I contributed in all three departments.
“He keeps things simple – they’re all pretty good things to have as a skipper”.
In-form Sri Lanka batsman Dinesh Chandimal was the backbone of the Sri Lanka innings, contributing a smart 102 before being the last man out. He also said he had been hurt by his sudden removal as captain, following the year-end tour of South Africa, in which Sri Lanka lost both series, but won a Test in South Africa for the first time.
Australia faced some early setbacks in the run chase, losing three wickets for 44 runs.
The only half-century partnership for the innings was the 73-run stand between Chandimal and Dilshan, the retiring hero who struck five fours on his way to an entertaining 42. Faulkner, Mitchell Starc and John Hastings claimed a couple of wickets each while Josh Hazlewood finished with a solitary scalp.
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Bailey top-scored with 70 runs in 99 deliveries at the other end while Matthew Wade came in and blasted 42 runs in 46 deliveries to help Australia move into a position of strength. The host has managed to score more than 230 only once and was particularly disappointing in the last game, where it was skittled for 226 despite Chandimal’s brilliant ton.
