Sri Lanka score milestone win against Aussies
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Sri Lanka claimed their first-ever series success in Australia with a win against Ricky Ponting’s team in the rain-marred second One-Day International (ODI) at the Sydney Cricket Ground yesterday.
The Sri Lankans won by 29 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method after several rain interruptions and followed their stunning one-wicket victory in the opening match in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka condemned Australia to a seventh straight international defeat in all forms of the game by scoring 213 for three off 41.4 overs and then bowling the home side out for 210 off 37.4 overs.
Opening batsman Upul Tharanga was named Man of the Match for his unbeaten top score of 86, while veteran spinner Muttiah Muralitharan claimed two wickets to take his career ODI tally to 517 wickets.
Ponting’s team have one more chance to break their demoralising run of losses — the longest since the 1996-97 season — before this month’s Ashes Test series against England in the final match of the ODI series against Sri Lanka in Brisbane on Sunday.