Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews produced an all-round performance as the hosts recorded a comprehensive 82-run victory over Australia in the second one-day global to level the five-match series 1-1 in Colombo on Wednesday.
Advertisement
A relatively late-comer to global cricket, Dilshan made his ODI debut in 1999, featuring as an all-rounder batting mainly in the lower-middle order for a decade.
Australian cricket team captain, Steve Smith, leaves the ground after a practice session ahead of their second test match against Sri Lanka in Galle, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, August 3, 2016.
Australia head coach Darren Lehmann defended the decision to rest Steve Smith from the remainder of the Sri Lanka tour.
But since the Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews and the selectors want to build a team for the 2019 World Cup, they persuaded Dilshan to retire.
In 2015, Dilshan enjoyed his best year in ODI cricket by scoring 1207 runs at an average of 52.47, including four centuries and six fifties.
The wicket was more settled than the one used for Sunday’s opening match, but Sri Lanka’s spinners, most notably Seekkuge Prasanna (1-48) and Amila Aponso (4-18), were a constant threat.
While Shaun Marsh, who posted a fine hundred in the third Test at SSC, Colombo, is expected to replace Smith, Lehmann has also hinted at further changes as Australia seek to salvage their tour in the shorter formats of the game.
Kusal Mendis is taking giant strides in global cricket, and his splendid performances have certainly created some doubts in the Australian minds simply because this is one batsman they have failed miserably to remove early, without troubling the scorers a lot. There were a few good bowling performances as well as runs from the top-order – including a half-century from Smith – but somewhere the conviction was missing.
The batsman had bid goodbye to Tests in 2013. The service, which normally costs a subscription fee of $50 (Australian) per month now offers a two-week free trial, allowing fans to watch the entire five-match Sri Lanka vs. Australia ODI series at no charge.
Advertisement
Dilshan captained Sri Lanka for two years between May 2010 and January 2012 and was an effective off-spin bowler, picking up 106 wickets at an average of 44.84.
