Allrounder Asela Gunaratne blasted Sri Lanka to a stunning two-wicket T20 win over Australia in Geelong. He hit the match-winning boundary off the last ball on Sunday night to cap his outstanding 84 not out from 46 balls, as Sri Lanka snatched the win from the home team’s grasp.
Sri Lanka have an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series ahead of Wednesday’s last game at Adelaide Oval. Australia are yet to beat Sri Lanka in a home T20 after five games.
Gunaratne’s innings featured six fours and five sixes, including four sixes and three fours in the tumultuous last two overs. Chasing 173, Sri Lanka slumped to 40-5 and with two overs left, they were still off the pace at 138-7. But Gunaratne blasted three sixes and a four off Moises Henriques, meaning they needed 14 off the last over.
After Nuwan Kalesekara was dismissed off the first ball, Gunaratne belted a four and a six off Andrew Tye. As was the case in game one, it came down to the last ball of the match, with Sri Lanka needing two to win. Gunaratne smashed another boundary, sparking wild scenes of jubilation among the Sri Lankans as they reached 176-8. He also top-scored with 52 in Friday night’s win.
Australia’s under-strength attack had torn through the Sri Lankan top order as paceman Jhye Richardson impressed on debut and Andrew Tye was on a hat-trick. But the first full international cricket match in Geelong attracted an underwhelming crowd of 13,537, with unseasonably poor weather undoubtedly hurting the attendance.
Richardson is one of Australian T20 debutants along with 36-year-old Michael Klinger, who followed up his 38 in game one with 43 on Sunday. Henriques paced the Australian innings with an unbeaten 56, his first T20 international half century, while Kulasekara ended the innings with three wickets in four balls.
Gunaratne also took the key wicket of Ben Dunk, who had blasted 32 runs from 14 balls. Australia made a surprise omission by leaving out legspinner Adam Zampa, who impressed on Friday night.
Earlier, Anna Peterson’s hat-trick trumped Molly Strano’s record Australian bowling figures as New Zealand levelled their women’s T20 series with a rain-affected win at the same venue.
Peterson bowled her only over at the end of the Australian innings, with the home side needing 11 to win. The Kiwi spinner took wickets with her first three deliveries, all caught, as the batters went for big hits.
There was also a run-out on the last ball of the game as Australia finished on 61-9 and lost by nine runs under the Duckworth-Lewis system.
New Zealand had made 101-9 from 20 overs and Australia were already in trouble at 35-3 from eight overs when rain stopped play for half an hour. They needed 35 off five overs when play resumed and never came close.
Asked for her reaction when captain Suzie Bates threw the ball to her for the last over, Peterson said: “I probably can’t say it on camera. It [the hat-trick] was a little unexpected, but it was great fun. I just had to bowl the ball and the fielders caught it – I only did half the job.”
It was only the sixth hat-trick in women’s T20 internationals and the first by a New Zealander.
In just her second game for the national team, Strano also made history with the best figures by an Australian in men’s or women’s T20 internationals. Her 5-10 beat the 5-27 from James Faulkner in March last year against Pakistan.
After Australia easily won the first game on Friday, the series will be decided on Wednesday in Adelaide.
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