Sri Lanka on the brinks of rare series win over mighty Aussies

by Rex Clementine

As David Warner pulled off a stunning one-handed catch to dismiss Pathum Nissanka, the full house at RPS had witnessed one of the best knocks ever played at this ground. Even more importantly, Nissanka’s 137 had put Sri Lanka on the brink of a rare series win over the mighty Australians. Every Australian player ran up to congratulate the 24-year-old. They certainly play the game hard but are quick to acknowledge good performances. Pathum hardly put a foot wrong on Sunday and his stocks are rising at an impressive rate.

This was no mean achievement. RPS is known for its challenges for teams that are chasing under lights. Sri Lanka have come agonizingly close while chasing down some big totals. Everyone conceded that the bowlers had given away too many in the last two overs costing 33 runs. But the Sri Lankans created history breaking the record for the highest successful run chase at RPS – 288 by India against Sri Lanka.

Pathum has had an impressive start to his international career since making his debut in the Caribbean a year ago. There was a Test hundred on debut and at present he is the only Sri Lankan batsman among the top ten batters in ICC Rankings in T20 cricket.

The 170-run stand that Pathum and Kusal Mendis were involved in was the key. They missed the record for the second wicket partnership in ODIs between these countries by just eight runs.

Mendis has been in good nick throughout this series and he looks to have turned a huge corner in his career after years of underachieving and off the field distractions. Cramps prevented Mendis from scoring a memorable hundred but it was an unforgettable day for the 27-year-old as his daughter Heyli was born a few hours later.

Sri Lanka now need to win only one more game to seal the series against Australia. It will be their first series win over the five-time World Champions since 2010. They have not beaten Australia in a series at home since 1992. What’s more important is Sri Lanka have now won back-to-back games without their star performer Wanindu Hasaranga.

While a series win will be celebrated what’s more important is that Sri Lanka look to have turned things around in white ball cricket after seven years of mediocre performances after a series of high-profile retirements.

With this series not part of the ICC World Cup Super League, automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup looks out of the equation but it will certainly help them improve their rankings. It also will bring back the disappointed sponsors and disgruntled fans who have turned up in numbers throughout the series. The team’s good results only put poor cricket writers in a fix as family and friends come up with numerous requests for tickets.

A full house is expected in today’s game while tickets are also in high demand for Friday’s last ODI.