Australia 170 (Haddin 50, Malinga 3-32) v Sri Lanka
|
Australian frailty against the seaming ball was laid bare by a highly
disciplined Sri Lankan bowling ensemble and a tacky Adelaide Oval pitch
as the hosts cobbled a measly 170 in the second ODI.
Sent in to bat after the start was delayed by morning rain, George
Bailey's team were unsure of themselves on a pitch more helpful to
seamers than Melbourne had been, a series of batsmen defeated by
deliveries that moved a tad or held up in the surface.
Sri Lanka's bowlers shared the wickets, with particular praise due to
Nuwan Kulasekara and Angelo Mathews, who took the new balls and set
Australia on the defensive by moving the ball just enough through the
air and off the seam, while keeping the runs down. Lasith Malinga and
Thisara Perera then followed up with wickets of their own. Named in
place of the injured Dinesh Chandimal, the debut gloveman Kushal Perera
kept wicket neatly and held four catches.
Brad Haddin was the only one of Australia's recognised batsmen to resist
for any protracted period, constructing a patient 50 that at least gave
the bowlers something to aim at. Ben Cutting supported Haddin with a
useful 27, while Clint McKay's attempt to do likewise was ended by a
bizarre decision review.
The first indication that Australia were not at their sharpest came in
the opening over when Aaron Finch clipped the ball straight to square
leg and set off for a single - Phillip Hughes would have been out by
yards had the ball found stumps or wicketkeeper. Fortunate there, Finch
was to be out for his second low score in as many matches and again fell
to a tentative stroke, pushing Mathews to short cover after he had
nudged Ajantha Mendis into the wicketkeeper's gloves at the MCG.
Hughes struggled to find the fluency he had managed while making a
century on debut, and was pinned in front of the stumps by Kulasekara,
wasting Australia's only review on a ball that pitched in line and would
have taken middle and off. David Hussey and Bailey briefly steadied the
innings in a stand of 39, but the stand-in captain's fortunate stay,
punctuated by numerous edges, was ended when he pulled Malinga to
midwicket where Lahiru Thirmanne held a decent catch.
Steve Smith, brought in for Usman Khawaja, hinted at fluency during his
brief stay but drove loosely at a Perera delivery that seamed back into
him and was taken behind. To this point Hussey had looked the most
composed of the batsmen, but his run out in another mix-up and a neat
leg cutter to remove Glenn Maxwell, put Australia in deep trouble.
Cutting and Haddin resisted for 15 overs and 57 runs, the former showing
glimpses of the batting skill he had demonstrated for Queensland over
the past two summers. Eventually Malinga's pace and unique angle drew an
edge from Cutting, and next ball his fellow debutant Kane Richardson
was flummoxed by a dipping slower ball and LBW.
McKay averted the hat-trick but then fell victim to a decision
overturned for reasons known only to the third umpire Richard
Kettleborough, for replays showed no solid evidence of an edge behind
from Perera's bowling, and HotSpot was no more revealing.
The last man Xavier Doherty's arrival moved Haddin to swing a mighty six
into the Members Stand. He picked out midwicket when trying to repeat
the shot from Mendis, leaving the hosts with a sorry total.
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here
Feeds: Daniel Brettig
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
No comments:
Post a Comment