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Australia Vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI 2016 as it happened: Australia win by 2 wickets, Tillakaratne Dilshan retires from ODIs
Australia Vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI 2016, Adam Zampa bagged three scalps to power Australia to a win by 2 wickets against Sri Lanka as Tillakaratne Dilshan retired from ODIs.
Australia beat Sri Lanka by 2 wickets in the 3rd ODI to take a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series. Australia were superb towards the end of the match as they chased down 227 in 46 overs. The star of the show was George Bailey, who made 70. Angelo Mathews was the pick of the bowlers who finished with figures of 2 for 30. Tillakaratne Dilshan meanwhile played his last ODI match. (MS Dhoni is no longer a finisher; Twitterati give their verdict)
Earlier, Australia restricted Sri Lanka to 226 in 49.2 overs. Adam Zampa bagged two scalps and Dinesh Chandimal made 102. Australia one has to say batted quite well at Dambulla to win it in the end. It is normally a slow and sluggish surface there and batting is not all that easy. Dilshan meanwhile scored 42 in his final ODI innings.
Meanwhile, the series is still open and things can still take an interesting turn as far as this series is concerned. Australia are in command after getting walloped in the Test series. Sri Lanka on the other hand will know that they cannot let their guard down. They have to remember that they may be masters in these conditions, but Australia are good enough to beat them if the need be.
Steve Smith has been a big talking point. He is taking no further part in this series but as this match showed us, Australia can win even without him. David Warner is more than capable as a leader and showed today that he is more than just an adequate replacement so to speak.
Dilshan meanwhile has left ODI cricket with several memories. He has given us so many moments to remember in his thrilling career. Today too he showed that he is very much alive and kicking and still capable of sending opposition fielders on a leather hunt.
The remaining two matches of the series will be closely followed. Sri Lanka are more than capable of making a comeback and would need some good runs on the board. Remember Australia are more than capable themselves as far as the bowling is concerned. Their batting has been an issue.
And this is where Sri Lanka can attack Australia. They will look to pack their team with tweakers and look to attack the Aussie batsmen. Australia will need to bat decently one way or the other, there is little doubt about that. Lanka may still be the favourites from here on.
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