KANDY, Sri Lanka, (Reuters) – Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan scored his maiden Twenty20 international century to lead Sri Lanka to an emphatic 35-run win over Australia at the Pallakele Stadium yesterday.
Dilshan, opening the batting, struck 12 fours and five sixes as he raced to 104 not out off 57 balls. He shared an unbeaten partnership of 104 off 45 balls for the fourth wicket with Jeevan Mendis (29).
“Jeevan batted brilliantly and took most of the pressure off me which enabled me to go for my shots,” said Dilshan after taking the man-of-the match award. “When runs were coming off both ends it was very difficult for the bowling side.
“I started off a bit slowly and then played the big shots later. It was a good toss to lose.
“Overall, it was a very satisfying performance from the team. I am happy the way we are playing.”
Sri Lanka, who were asked to bat, reached 198 for three and put a brake on the Australian batting through their spinners to restrict them to 163 for eight wickets with only David Warner making any impression with 53 off 31 balls. Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera, making his debut, took three for 26.
Australian captain Cameron White said: “We were in the game for 12-14 overs but Dilshan took the game away from us. Full credit to Sri Lanka and Dilshan.
“I wish I could have that toss back but that’s the way it goes.”
It was Sri Lanka’s first T20 international win at home in five matches.
SCOREBOARD
Sri Lanka beat Australia by 35 runs.
Sri Lanka innings
M Jayawardene b Lee 11
T Dilshan not out 104
D Chandimal hit wkt b Johnson 11
K Sangakkara c White b Watson 30
J Mendis not out 29
Extras: (lb-7, w-6) 13
Total: (three wickets, 20 overs) 198
Fall of wickets: 1-12 2-42 3-94
Did not bat: A Mathews , D Perera, N Kulasekara, D Prasad, R Herath, S Lakmal.
Bowling: Lee 4-0-38-1 (2-w), O’Keefe 3-0-18-0 (1-w), Johnson 4-0-47-1 (1-w), Hastings 3-0-34-0 (2-w), Smith 2-0-13-0, Watson 4-0-41-1.
Australia innings
S Watson b Kulasekara 10
D Warner c Dilshan b Kulasekara 53
S Marsh lbw b Perera 4
D Hussey b Perera 6
C White b Perera 7
S Smith st Sangakkara b Herath 12
B Haddin run out 7
M Johnson not out 22
S O’Keefe b Lakmal 22
J Hastings not out 14
Extras: (lb-1, w-5) 6
Total: (eight wickets, 20 overs) 163
Fall of wickets: 1-18 2-39 3-49 4-63 5-89 6-103 7-105 8-144
Did not bat: B Lee.
Bowling: Kulasekara 4-0-39-2 (3-w), Lakmal 3-0-23-1 (1-w), Perera 4-0-26-3 (1-w), Prasad 3-0-37-0, Dilshan 3-0-26-0, Herath 3-0-11-1.
