ICC Champions Trophy 2013 Day 12: Sri Lanka v Australia (The Oval)

Sri Lanka through to face India in Semi-Finals

Sri Lanka 253-8 (50 overs) beat Australia 233 all out (42.3) by 20 runs.

Sri Lanka claimed a 20 run victory to set up a Semi-Final with India whilst the result knock both Australia and New Zealand out of the competition. Jayawardene's (84*) sensational knock proved too much for the Australian bowlers to handle as Sri Lanka posted 253-8 after their 50 overs. Australia got off to a poor start as they stumbled to 80-5. Voges (49) and Wade (31) put Australia back on the winning trail but were both dismissed. McKay's attempt to save the game was not enough as the Australian was caught and bowled by Dilshan which wrapped up a Sri Lankan victory.

My Opinion: Jayawardene was simply the difference in this match. The Sri Lankan's batted more impressively than the Aussies overall but to be unbeaten on 84 was a spectacular feat. Australia, who needed a miracle run rate to go through, lost too many early wickets from which they could not recover from. Sri Lanka deserve to progress from the group as New Zealand and Australia showed a lack of quality throughout the tournament.



Match Guide: Key Moments

Australia won the toss and elected to field first.

SL: 8-1 (0.3), Perera 8 (3), 2 x fours, lbw Johnson.
20-2 (3.2), Sangakkara 3 (11), caught Maxwell, Mckay.
91-3 (22.2), Dilshan 34 (58), 1 x four, caught Watson, Doherty.
(27), Thirmanne hits 50* off 72 balls.
128-4 (31.3), Thirimanne 57 (86), 4 x fours, caught Watson, Johnson.
159-5 (37), Mathews 12 (20), 1 x four, bowled by Faulkner.
(42), Jayawardene hits 50* off 57 balls.
224-6 (46.2), Chandimal 31 (32), 1 x four, 1 x six, caught Hughes, Johnson.
234-7 (47.4), Kulasekara 6 (5), run out by Maxwell.
244-8 (49.1), Herath 2 (5), run out by Marsh.
253-8 (50), Jayawardene 84* (81), 11 x fours, Malinga 2* (1).

AUS: 9-1 (1.2), Watson 5 (7), 1 x four, bowled by Kulasekara.
45-2 (5.2), Hughes 13 (10), 3 x fours, caught Sangakkara, Kulasekara.
59-3 (6.3), Maxwell 32 (20), 5 x fours, 1 x six, bowled by Malinga.
69-4 (8.3), Bailey 4 (7), run out by Kulasekara.
80-5 (13), Marsh 4 (14), bowled by Mathews.
127-6 (19.1), Wade 31 (23), 4 x fours, 1 x six, caught Dilshan, Kulasekara.
163-6 (23.5), Faulkner 17 (14), 3 x fours, caught Sangakkara, Herath.
168-8 (25), Johnson 4 (4), 1 x four, caught Kulasekara, Eranga.
189-8 (29.1), Australia are OUT of tournament with a lower run rate than Sri Lanka.
192-9 (30.2), Voges 49 (62), 2 x fours, caught Eranga, Herath.
233 all out (42.3), Mckay 30 (58), 2 x fours, caught and bowled by Dilshan. Sri Lanka win by 20 runs.

Best Bowler: Kulasekara with figures of 3-42-0-9
Best Batsman: Jayawardene for hitting 84 not out off 81 balls.
Man of the Match: Jayawardene for a match winning performance with the bat.