Shanaka blinder denies Australia a clean sweep

Dasun Shanaka

Sri Lanka pulled off one of the great T20I run chases, to beat Australia by 4 wickets today, at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy.

Dasun Shanaka led from the front with a scintillating half-century.

Chasing 177 for a consolation win after being outplayed in the first two matches, Sri Lanka were in the doldrums at 108-6 in the 16th over of their innings in Kandy.

Shanaka then exploded with the bat to put the pressure back on Australia with Sri Lanka needing 19 runs off the last over from Kane Richardson, who buckled under the pressure. Richardson began the over with two wides and Shanaka hit him for back-to-back boundaries and followed it with a six to level the scores.

Sri Lanka’s victory was sealed when Richardson sent down a third wide ball of that over, triggering celebrations at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Shanaka’s unbeaten 54 came off 25 balls and included four sixes and five fours.

Earlier, Australia posted 176-5 after skipper Aaron Finch (29) won the toss and combined with David Warner (39) to give the tourists a strong start. Marcus Stoinis contributed 38 down the order, while Steve Smith scored 37 not out to help Australia post a decent total.