Tri-Nation Series: Warner, Hussey have the final laugh

Australia edge out Sri Lanka by 15 runs, take 1-0 lead in best-of-three final.

BRISBANE:

David Warner scored a magnificent 163 as Australia downed a gallant Sri Lanka by 15 runs in the first Tri-Nation Series One-Day International (ODI) final.

Warner, whose previous highest ODI score was 74, smashed 13 fours and two sixes in his 157-ball innings to lead Australia to an imposing total of 321 for six after Michael Clarke chose to bat.

After a bright start, Sri Lanka fell behind the run-rate as wickets began to fall, slumping to 144 for six before an entertaining 73 from Nuwan Kulasekara and 60 from Upul Tharanga kept their chances alive.

The pair put on 104 runs from only 70 balls – including 68 runs in the five-over batting Powerplay – to get their team right back in the match.

However, the target proved too great as they fell just short in a hugely entertaining first final.

Clarke a relieved man

The Australia captain, who breathed a sigh of relief, admitted his team needed to bring about improvement as they look to clinch the tournament in the next match.

“I was thinking you can’t lose the game from that position [144 for 6], that’s for sure,” said Clarke. “It doesn’t matter how much you win by so I’m really happy with the result.

“Our performance with the bat was outstanding, the kind of start we got from Warner and Matthew Wade was just what we’ve been looking for.

“But we’ve got a lot of work to do with our Powerplay. Our bowling [during the Powerplays] hasn’t been good enough this whole series and unfortunately it continues to let us down. Under pressure we’re not executing.”

David Hussey unlikely hero with the ball

Part-time spinner David Hussey was the unlikely bowling hero for Australia with four for 43, while all-rounder Shane Watson chipped in with three for 33 including two vital wickets in the final overs.

But the real star of the day was Warner, who finally delivered on the ODI stage after starring in both Tests and Twenty20s for Australia.

The 25-year-old left-hander was in imperious touch as he became only the seventh Australian to pass 150 in a ODI, batting through the entire innings until he was bowled on the last ball of the 50th over by medium pacer Dhammika Prasad.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, who saw his team’s fortunes swing around from the dressing room after being dismissed early in the innings, was pleased with his team’s fightback.

“I’m quite happy with the effort from the boys, they showed a lot of character,” said Jayawardene. “We didn’t play a perfect game.

“They got off to a good start and it was difficult to bring them back — 320 was always going to be tough and we lost wickets trying to keep up.”

David Warner

“The first 50 runs were a bit scratchy - I feel like I didn’t hit one ball out of the middle but I knew I had to keep going and be there at the end. I knew if I stayed in there and got a big hundred we would get 300.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2012.