DAMBULLA, SRI LANKA: Half-centurion George Bailey starred in Australia\u2019s tense run chase as the visitors edged past Sri Lanka by two wickets in the third ODI and took a 2-1 lead in Dambulla on Monday.
\nAustralia chased down 227 in 46 overs to deny Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan a winning farewell in his final ODI.
\nBowlers set up the win for the visitors after restricting Sri Lanka to 226 all out in 49.2 overs with Dinesh Chandimal top-scoring with 102.
\nThe Sri Lankan bowlers also made their presence felt with skipper Angelo Mathews providing the hosts with two early wickets including that of his opposite number David Warner.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s always good to start on a winning note and go 2-1 up. I think our bowlers bowled really well in the middle overs \u2013 Zampa and Hastings,\u201d said Warner.
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\nMathews got Warner caught at point for 10 as Dilshan took a splendid catch.
\nAaron Finch, who scored a 29-ball 30 with three fours and a six, was next to go after left-arm spinner Amila Aponso trapped the opening batsman lbw.
\nMathews struck again with his medium-pace to get Shaun Marsh, who was included in the playing eleven in place of resting Steve Smith, out for one and put the visitors in trouble at 44 for three.
\nTravis Head and Bailey, who scored a gritty 70, put on 62 runs for the fourth wicket to put the tourists\u2019 chase back on track as the duo scored runs at a decent pace.
\nOff-spinner Dilruwan Perera bowled Head for 36 as batting suddenly seemed difficult under lights at the Rajgiri Dambulla International Stadium.
\nBailey, whose 142-ball stay was laced with five boundaries, held fort as he got Matthew Wade for company and the batsmen put on 81 to keep the visitors in sight of their target.
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\nMan of the match Bailey posted his 20th ODI fifty as he mixed the right dose of caution and aggression, forcing the Sri Lankan think-tank to rotate their bowling options.
\nDilruwan Perera finally got Wade stumped for 42 to break the dangerous stand and bring alive the packed home crowd.
\nSoon leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna got Bailey bowled in the 42nd over with Australia needing another 23 runs for victory.
\nA wobbling Australia lost another two wickets before Adam Zampa got the winning runs as he got the ball sailing over extra cover where Dilruwan Perera dropped the catch o the delight of the visiting players.
\nMathews, Aponso and Dilruwan Perera took two wickets each.
\nEarlier Sri Lanka, who elected to bat first, suffered from regular fall of wickets against a persistent Australian attack led by leg-spinner Zampa.
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\nThe hosts lost two early wickets before Dilshan and Chandimal put together a 73-run partnership for the third wicket to steady the innings.
\nThe 39-year-old Dilshan, who played his last ODI of his glittering career, scored a 65-ball 42 with the help of five boundaries before falling to Zampa.
\nDilshan, who recorded 10,290 runs in 330 ODIs with 22 hundreds and 47 half-centuries, acknowledged the cheers of a raucous home crowd as he walked back to the pavilion.
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s the right decision, the way I finished my career. I\u2019m really happy I contributed in all three departments. I\u2019m really happy with my decision,\u201d said Dilshan after the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DAMBULLA, SRI LANKA: Half-centurion George Bailey starred in Australia\u2019s tense run chase as the visitors edged past Sri Lanka by two wickets in the third ODI and took a 2-1 lead in Dambulla on Monday. Australia chased down 227 in 46 overs to deny Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan a winning farewell in his final […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n