Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford described Kusal Mendis’ 176 as “one of the best” he’s seen, and said the batsman’s temperament had impressed him as well

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Pallekele29-Jul-20162:21

‘One of the best innings I’ve ever seen’ – Ford

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford, who has previously praised Kusal Perera’s technique, described Kusal Mendis’ 176 as “one of the best” he’s seen, and said the batsman’s temperament had impressed him as well. At the end of day four, Mendis’ innings still appears a monumental anomaly in a match in which the next highest score is 47.”What can you say? It’s one of the best innings I’ve ever seen,” Ford said. “It was. He seemed to have a plan – and option – against all the bowlers. He showed real composure. The odd one did explode and turn on him but he didn’t bother about the previous delivery. He just focused on the next ball and got on with the job. He is an amazing talent. He works really hard and really loves the game.”Mendis’ innings was anomalous because of its tempo, as well as its size. Of top-order batsmen to breach 30 in this Test, no one else has had a strike rate of over 60. With his innings only spanning 254 balls, Mendis struck at 69. It is also anomalous in the context of his brief career so far – his previous highest in Tests had been 53 in Leeds.”He’s batted at no. 3 in all formats across the last couple of months, and shown wonderful maturity,” Ford said. “He’s shown signs each time of the possibility of making big scores. There have been really exciting cameos each time, but fortunately now he’s got one of those big innings under his belt, it will hopefully lead to a lot more.”He also just seems an extremely relaxed young man. Nothing really fazes him. He enjoys playing and he can’t wait to get out there and bat. Doesn’t seem to show any signs of nerves. He plays positively and plays his shots. He went to his hundred with a six – no nervous nineties. He definitely puts a lot of thought into it. He works hard. But there’s no signs of him being too bothered, or worried about failure, which is quite a nice way of going about his business.”Since debuting against West Indies in October last year, Mendis has largely filled the no. 3 position vacated by Kumar Sangakkara. “Had you still had the Sangas and the Mahela Jayawardenes, Kusal would have ideally been blooded at no. 6 or 7,” Ford said. “But without anybody really putting their hand up to grab that no. 3 spot, we thought he was the guy to get in and had the technique to handle it. Each time he went out there he looked like he had real capabilities to become a world-class and match-winning no. 3. So we decided to run with him and he’s paid us back.”

A stalwart effort from Nick Gubbins kept Middlesex in contention at Trent Bridge as they faced a stiff challenge from a Nottinghamshire side fighting for their first division lives

George Dobell at Trent Bridge07-Sep-2016
ScorecardNick Gubbins resists for Middlesex at Trent Bridge•Getty Images

It was more constrictor than cobra, more glacier than waterfall but, if Middlesex do go on to win the County Championship title this season, they may look back on Nick Gubbins’ innings here as a key contribution.With Yorkshire passing 400 at Leeds and Middlesex reeling at 81 for 5, this could have been the day their title challenge fell away. But through Gubbins’ skill and determination, they will resume on day three with the match in the balance and their first Championship title since 1993 still attainable.Gubbins has already contributed heavily this season. With 1122 Championship runs at an average of almost 60, he is not only his club’s highest run-scorer, but the fourth highest in the top division. He has played three fewer innings than all above him.But many of those runs have been scored on the slow and flat – the painfully slow and flat – surface at Lord’s. And while Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s director of cricket, reasons that such surfaces may benefit his team in the long-term (“they give batsmen confidence and teach bowlers the value of control,” he suggests), they can also inflate the records of some of those playing there.Here, though, in conditions where the ball moved all day for the seamers and on a slow, used surface that provided assistance to two spinners with international wickets to their name, he was forced to prove his quality in far less benign circumstances. And, after an opening over hat-trick on the first evening, he did it under the pressure of knowing his team needed him more than ever.It was, as he admitted himself, “a bit of a grind” at times. He went, at one stage, 38 overs without a boundary and 80 deliveries over the accumulation of five runs. His share of the stand of 42 with Stevie Eskinazi was just five and his half-century took 187 balls.But it was, in its way, compelling viewing. Forced to play straight and wait for the poor ball – and Nottinghamshire made him wait a long time – he refused to be drawn into playing away from his body and refused to let his impatience or frustration change his approach. For a 22-year-old, it was an impressively disciplined, selfless effort. Without it, Middlesex would have been in deep trouble.Gubbins is a batsman with far more to him than grim defence and crease occupation. He made his breakthrough as a List A batsman (he averaged 56.50 in that format in 2015) and has scored his Championship runs at a rate of 53.27 this season. He has a a trademark force off the hips – a stroke he can play on the ground or in the air off a good length ball on off stump – that can make a bowler wonder why he bothers.But reasoning that he is in this game for the long-haul, he has decided that such strokes are, for now, low-percentage. He has decided, like many top-order players before him, to play within himself (“that shot forces my head too far over to the off side,” he explains) and concentrate on a tight defence before worrying himself about domination. In conditions like this such a method will serve him – and, one day perhaps, England – well.There were still some elegant shots. When Brett Hutton dropped short he was cut, when Jake Ball – a little off colour, despite the five-wicket haul – he was driven. Imran Tahir’s odd loose balls were similarly punished. As Gubbins put it: “I never really felt I had dropped anchor, but they bowled very well, had in out fields and we had to battle hard to reach parity.”It was no surprise to hear that he has been spending time with Nick Compton. There were times here when this was much like watching Compton of 2012 vintage: a watertight defence and love for batting slowly breaking down the bowlers and feeding off their mistakes. It’s old school but it works.Such feats of concentration and mental and physical endurance can wear any player. It may be that both Compton and Jonathan Trott one day look back on their careers and reflect that they simply exhausted themselves. But, for now at least, Gubbins has the energy and the talent to relish the battle. If he can sustain it, he will be prove of great service to country as well as club.Notts looked far better than a bottom of the table team. Hutton produced a beauty to account for John Simpson – the ball swung in, pitched and moved just enough to beat what appeared to be a perfectly respectable forward defensive stroke and hit the top of off stump – while Harry Gurney bowled impressively dry and delivered four maidens in succession at one stage.If Dawid Malan felt himself unfortunate to be given out leg before – he held his head in his hands with disappointment – James Franklin felt to a loose upper cut to deep backward point and Eskinazi was well beaten by Imran. Gubbins’ fine innings was eventually ended by Hutton’s first over with the second new ball, when he was forced to play another beauty that swung in, held in the pitch and took the edge.Notts are not out of this game. With a potent leg-spinner to call upon, Middlesex face a tough challenge in the fourth innings on a used pitch. If Notts can just bat a little better in their second innings – and they started brightly – the great escape remains a distant possibility.Meanwhile Mick Newell, who is soon to be director of cricket at Nottinghamshire, hinted that a place could be found for James Taylor on the club’s coaching staff. Taylor, who was forced to retire with immediate effect in April after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition, has made no secret of his desire to try his hand at coaching.Notts have missed not just his runs, but his experience and spirit this season. While a role as a full time coach seems unlikely, it seems a part-time position mentoring young batsmen – especially in white ball cricket – could be created.”He’s interested and there’s scope for him to work with us,” Newell said. “I think he can work with young batters like Tom Moores. We lost a lot of mental toughness when he went. It was a big loss.”

Having been clouted to all parts of Centurion, the Wanderers and Durban, Australia’s punch-drunk bowlers will be seeking some respite in Port Elizabeth

The Preview by Daniel Brettig08-Oct-2016

Match facts

October 9, 2016
Start time 1000 local (0800 GMT)

Big picture

Having been clouted to all parts of Centurion, the Wanderers, and most brutally in Durban, Australia’s punch-drunk bowlers will be seeking some respite in Port Elizabeth. Equally, Steven Smith, the touring captain, will be eager to add some respectability to a series score line that is as stark as the contrast between crestfallen Australia and jubilant South Africa on Wednesday night at Kingsmead.Unfortunately for Smith, and coach Darren Lehmann, Australia’s options for an improved line-up are slim. Scott Boland arrived as one of the more experienced members of the attack, but was promptly dropped after game one, while Joe Mennie’s fast-medium pace also lasted only one match before he was shuffled back out. The spectre of defeat invariably leads to players starting to think of their own positions in the team, and it will be critical for Lehmann and Smith to ensure minds remain focused on the task.Lehmann has stated that he believes the biggest problem for Australia’s bowlers has been an inability to replicate training patterns under the spotlight of crowds, television cameras and confident opponents, something for assistant coach David Saker, and Ryan Harris, the bowling assistant, to ponder.”We’ve got to find a way to get some early wickets and put some pressure back on South Africa, and at the moment, we’re not doing that,” Lehmann said after Durban. “And we’re not doing the good things that we do in the nets and taking them out into the middle in front of a packed house. At the end of the day, the blokes have trained really well and prepared well, and bowled really well in the nets, but international cricket is quite pressurised. They’ve just got to get used to that.”For South Africa, Port Elizabeth will be about seeking to avoid a let-down following the heights of Kingsmead and the sealing of the series. Acting captain Faf du Plessis appeared somewhat shocked to have been on the winning end of that match, something for which he had David Miller to thank, with a century that was scored having picked up a groin injury that has proved bad enough to leave him sidelined. The hosts will also be mindful of trying to keep Australia’s batsmen under slightly more control than they managed in game three, even if a mighty total ultimately proved inadequate.

Form guide

South Africa: WWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia: LLLWW

In the spotlight

Early in South Africa’s chase in Durban, Quinton de Kock was subjected to plenty of verballing by the Australians in reference to a slow start that was soaking up balls. That baiting seemed primarily to wake de Kock from his initial slumber, and he went on to hammer 70 from a mere 49 balls to get South Africa off to the start they needed to stand a chance. Off the back of his punishing 178 in the opening game, his wicket looms as vital to Australia’s chances.John Hastings’ reputation for miserly spells has taken something of a hit in recent days, as he has not been able to quell South Africa’s scoring in ways that he has previously managed against other teams. As the most experienced member of the bowling attack on tour, Hastings will be expected to step up in Port Elizabeth and lead a better collective display.

Teams news

The groin injury which Miller sustained during his monumental matchwinning hundred will keep him out of the rest of the series which is likely to mean a recall for Farhaan Behardien. The rest of the recast batting order, which made room for Hashim Amla by shuffling Rilee Rossouw down the order, can be expected to be retained. Dale Steyn, however, may be rested now that the series is decided as could Kagiso Rabada with the possibility of playing an extra spinner.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Farhaan Behardien , 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Dale Steyn/Kyle Abbott, 10 Kagiso Rabada/Aaron Phangiso, 11 Imran TahirScott Boland may be in line for a recall by Australia’s tour selectors, after the bowling attack was hard-hit once again in Durban. Usman Khawaja is also waiting for his next chance.Australia: (possible): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Steve Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Mathew Wade (wk), 8 John Hastings, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Chris Tremain, 11 Daniel Worrall/Scott Boland

Pitch and conditions

Spin, and pace off the ball will likely play a role on one of South Africa’s slower pitches. The weather forecast for Port Elizabeth is for fine conditions, with periods of cloud cover.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have won four of the seven ODI encounters between the two teams at Port Elizabeth, though South Africa have won the two most recent contests, in 2009 and 2011
• Australia haven’t lost four matches in an ODI series since England won 4-0 with one match rained out in 2012

Quotes

“I think we worked out we’re taking pretty much seven of our first-choice one-day team out of the bowling attack, and when you go through that it’s some high-quality bowling. But it’s an opportunity for the young guys to learn, to learn quickly and learn what they need to do to step up in international cricket. At the moment, we’re failing in that and they’ve got to get better.”

Temba Bavuma and Stephen Cook acknowledged the WACA’s similarity to the pitch back home at the Wanderers, where they represent the Lions

Firdose Moonda01-Nov-20161:56

Wanderers experience will help at WACA – Cook

The joke is that South Africans feel more at home in Perth than some Australians. With an estimated 30,000 of their countrymen permanently settled in the city, and its distance from the rest of Australia’s cities, you can understand why. South African batsmen Stephen Cook and Temba Bavuma also have reason to feel like they belong at the WACA, but it’s got more to do with where they come from.They play their cricket at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, which Cook said was “probably the one ground in the world that’s similar to Perth in terms of pace and bounce.” While the WACA has lost some of its bite and the Wanderers has been known to produce run-fests, especially in limited-overs cricket, the surfaces remain spicy enough to keep bowlers interested.Batsmen need familiarity to be properly equipped on such pitches and Cook, whose domestic career is more than a decade and a half old, said he had more than enough. “I think it will stand me in good stead and I will try to take a few of the lessons I’ve learnt in my career and translate them into playing here,” Cook said.Bavuma only has half of Cook’s experience but more than three times his number of Tests caps and is just as eager to show what he can do on a seamer-friendly strip. “Judging by the nets, it’s quite similar to the Wanderers. Here the bounce is a bit exaggerated. That’s a challenge I am looking forward to,” he said.But both will need major improvements on what they have showed on tour so far if they are to match their talk with action. The pair are the only two in the top seven who have not scored at least a half-century in South Africa’s two warm-up matches.Cook managed just 5 and 12 in the first one, a day-night practice match, and got a duck in the second. Bavuma fared slightly better with scores of 11, 21 and 43. On South Africa A’s winter tour to Australia earlier this year, Cook scored only 58 runs in four innings – two of them were ducks – while Bavuma scored 51 in that series, with a top score of 21.Those numbers are not reassuring, but Cook insisted they were not a cause for concern. “I haven’t scored that many runs since I’ve been here but I’m not too perturbed by that. Things were pretty good in a couple of domestic games back home and I’ve felt like I’ve been in decent touch,” he said, referring to an unbeaten 97 in the first-class season opener between the Lions and Cobras at the Wanderers.Stephen Cook was confident that failures in the warm-up games will not affect his Test performances•Getty Images

“We all hit the ground running when it gets to the real stuff. Sometimes a lot gets read into practice games and situations like that but I’ve played this game for long enough to know that there’s no direct correlation between the two.”Bavuma also has recent form to fall back on. On his ODI debut against Ireland, batting as an opener, he scored a century and showed an ability to shift gears, which he knows could be called on in the Tests.”Where I bat in the middle order you generally have to be able to play the situation,” Bavuma said. “There will be moments in the series where you have to take the attack to the opposition. It’s about me being able to recognise those moments and adjust.”Bavuma has already showed an ability to adapt to pressure. He is the first black African batsman to play Test cricket for South Africa and as such, carries the hopes of a nation. He accepts that. If that was not enough, at 1.67 metres (5’5″) he has since been asked if he also considers himself an ambassador for the vertically challenged as well. He isn’t entirely sure of the answer but he knows that he could be seen as a novelty and that means expectation on him will grow with each game.”It’s a pressure I am trying to embrace and take in my stride. I want to improve and better myself all the time,” Bavuma said.At 33, so does Cook. Schooled alongside former South African captain Graeme Smith, Cook has waited almost half his life to play for South Africa and with time not on his side, he wants to make the most of every match.”My first Test was a dream, but as cricketers we’re never satisfied. You get a taste for something and you want more. This is an iconic series. It’s been a series in which a lot of players’ and a lot of teams’ careers have been defined. Therein lies another wonderful opportunity for us as a team. It’s for me as an individual to make my stamp and put my mark on it.”Cook watched as JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis prospered on previous Australian tours and saw two people “of similar age and and who I grew up playing cricket against, go from guys who were maybe not that well known, to guys who put in big performances under pressure.”Neither Cook, nor Bavuma are well-known yet. But they have put in performances under pressure at the Wanderers. Now they have to do it at the WACA.

The former allrounder’s first assignment is the New Zealand Test series beginning on November 17 in Christchurch

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-20161:28

Mahmood to coach Pakistan full time

Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder, has been appointed the team’s bowling coach for a two-year period. His term begins with the first Test of the New Zealand tour on November 17.Mahmood, 41, had first been brought on as a temporary replacement for Mushtaq Ahmed for the Asia Cup in February 2016, then worked along with Mushtaq at the World T20. He was with the team during the limited-overs series against England in August as well. The short-term nature of these stints was because Mahmood was contracted as a player with English county club Surrey until July 2016. He has already linked up with the Pakistan squad in Sharjah, where they were playing the third and final Test against West Indies.Pakistan have been without a bowling coach since the end of the England tour. The PCB were deliberating over several candidates, including former fast bowler Aaqib Javed. However, he was unwilling to give up his current role as the PSL team Lahore Qalandars’ head of cricket operations.Mahmood may have less than a year’s experience coaching an international team, but he represented Pakistan for 10 years and after he retired in 2007 he became a T20 specialist, playing for domestic teams at home and in England, India, Bangladesh, New Zealand and the West Indies.Pakistan depart for New Zealand on November 4 to play two Tests, in Christchurch and Hamilton.

Beau Webster’s unbeaten 122 – his third first-class century – helped Tasmania set Victoria a target of 361 out of which they knocked off 44 without losing a wicket on the third day

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2016
ScorecardBeau Webster scored his third first-class hundred•Getty Images

An unbeaten hundred from Beau Webster set Victoria a stiff target of 361 out of which they scored 44 without losing a wicket by the end of the third day in Hobart.Resuming the day on 3 for 127, Tasmania lost Jordan Silk for 76 on the seventh ball of the day, but Webster kept knocking runs off in the company of some lower-order batsmen. He forged stands of 70, 98 and 47 with Jake Doran (24), Simon Milenko (51) and Sam Rainbird (32) respectively even as the Victoria quicks picked wickets. Webster was not out on 122, his third first-class hundred, before Tasmania declared on 9 for 387. Chris Tremain finished with 4 for 97 while Jon Holland and Dan Christian took two wickets each.Victoria openers Travis Dean and Marcus Harris played out 17 overs to end the day with them needing another 317.

On a manic day in which 20 wickets fell and three innings unfolded, Tamil Nadu toppled a full-strength Karnataka side inside two days on a green Visakhapatnam track to march into the semi-final of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu in Visakhapatnam24-Dec-2016
ScorecardFile photo – T Natarajan (in pic) took three wickets to leave Tamil Nadu with 87 to win, which they chased down with seven wickets in hand•T Natarajan

On a manic day in which 19 wickets fell and three innings unfolded, Tamil Nadu toppled a full-strength Karnataka side inside two days on a green Visakhapatnam track to march into the semi-final of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy.The day began with Dinesh Karthik, playing his 100th Ranji match, nicking behind in the second over and ended with him launching a straight six to secure Tamil Nadu’s first outright victory over Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy since 2003-04. Karnataka’s current coach J Arunkumar was the captain, and L Balaji, the Tamil Nadu bowling coach, was only playing his 15th Ranji match then.KL Rahul made a fluent 77, Manish Pandey bagged a duck, and Karun Nair, suffering from lower abdominal pain, literally hobbled his way to 12 at No.8 as Karnataka, who conceded a lead of 64, were bowled out for 150 in the second dig. That was made possible largely due to the efforts of seamer K Vignesh, whose marathon spell of 12-1-43-4 cracked the game open.He ran in hard and hit the deck harder, and bounced out Karnataka’s middle order. T Natarajan then took care of the tail to dismiss Karnataka in just 38.1 overs. This had come after Tamil Nadu, resuming on 111 for 4, were bowled out for 152 an hour before lunch. Chasing 87, Tamil Nadu lost three wickets inside ten overs, but Karthik made a punchy 41 not out off 30 balls to seal the deal.At the start of the day, though, it had seemed like anybody’s game. Karnataka’s captain Vinay Kumar nudged his team ahead when he had Karthik, who failed to add to his overnight tally, for 31. B Aparajith then exited in the next over for a three-ball duck. That meant, Abhinav Mukund, who had come into bat at No.6 on the first day because of fever, was left with the tail.Vinay teased Aswin Crist with a brace of outswingers before pinning the batsman on the pad with an inswinger. But the sharp angle from over the wicket meant the ball would have slid down leg. Abhinav contributed 17 off 48 balls before he was the eighth Tamil Nadu batsman to be dismissed. They were ultimately all-out for in 53.3 overs.Karnataka started well in their second innings as KL Rahul unfurled a slew of ramps and upper-cuts over the cordon either side of lunch. One such ramp put Karnataka into the lead. Tamil Nadu went into a defensive mode against Rahul and even had a deep point in place at one stage.They, however, worked their way around Rahul. Kaunain Abbas’ off stump was tilted back by a sharp indipper from Vignesh. In his next over, the seamer got one to leap off the deck and Pandey gloved it behind for a nine-ball duck. When Stuart Binny was caught short by a direct hit from Ganga Sridhar Raju, who was substituting for an ill Abhinav, Karnataka were 82 for 4. Nair, who could barely run, was also caught unawares by the hit-the-deck bustle of Vignesh.An unfazed Rahul continued to play his shots. He imperiously lofted Crist over mid-on, and then survived a nervy moment on 69 when he flashed away from the body and sent a thick outside edge behind. Karthik, who was on the move, dropped a fairly straightforward catch. Rahul wasn’t second-time lucky: after adding eight runs he attempted the same shot and this time Karthik snaffled the catch.Four overs after Rahul’s dismissal, Karnataka folded, having managed to survive only 75.2 overs in the match. Karthik then fittingly provided the coup de grâce to spark off rapturous celebrations in the Tamil Nadu camp. Who would have thought the south Indian derby would end inside two days?

Moises Henriques, Kurtis Patterson and Nick Larkin made runs on the first day of New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield tie against Queensland at the SCG

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2017
ScorecardMoises Henriques struck 13 fours en route to his unbeaten ton•BCCI

Moises Henriques, the New South Wales captain, struck an unbeaten century to spearhead a sturdy batting display against Queensland on day one of the Sheffield Shield match at the SCG.On a day of high temperatures in Sydney, with more forecast for Saturday that forced the cancellation of weekend club matches, the hosts made the most of the conditions after Henriques won the toss.While Daniel Hughes fell to Peter George in the day’s first over and Ed Cowan was unable to replicate his double-century against Victoria at the MCG last week, falling lbw first ball to Michael Neser to leave the Blues 2 for 2, both Nick Larkin and Kurtis Patterson were able to sculpt substantial innings to guide NSW into a strong position.Opener Larkin struck 86 in a 156-run partnership for the third wicket with Patterson, who struck 88 himself, as NSW rescued their innings.Arriving at the crease with 158 on the board, Henriques built his innings sensibly before accelerating to capitalise on tiring bowlers in the final session, hitting 13 fours in his unbeaten knock of 102. The Bulls missed the legbreaks of Mitchell Swepson, presently training with the Australian Test squad in Dubai ahead of their imminent trip to India.

Wellington toppled Central Districts by five wickets in a closely-fought third preliminary final to set up a final date against Canterbury on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2017
ScorecardMichael Papps put behind a string of low scores to score a half-century and take Wellington into the final•Getty Images

After falling short by 27 runs against Canterbury in the first preliminary final, Wellington did not squander their second chance as they toppled Central Districts by five wickets in the third preliminary final at the Basin Reserve to set up a final against Canterbury on Saturday. Medium pacer Anurag Verma’s 4 for 49 helped bowl out Central Districts for 247, and opening batsman Michael Papps scored 80 to help Wellington scale down the target with three balls to spare.Like Papps, George Worker shone opening the innings for Central Districts. Worker strung together a century stand with captain Will Young (57 off 60 balls) to lift his team to 176 for 2. But Central Districts slid thereafter, losing five wickets for 29 runs, including that of Worker for 85. They were shored up by Josh Clarkson’s rapid 42, off 33 balls, with four fours and two sixes.Wellington showcased their batting strength in the chase. Barring Scott Borthwick, who was caught in the sixth over for 1, all their batsmen made contributions. Papps was supported by captain Hamish Marshall (37), Tom Blundell (21) and Michael Pollard (24).Papps’ wicket was the last Central Districts would take, when he was stumped off left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel. At that point, Wellington still needed 58 with just 47 balls and five wickets remaining. Luke Woodcock slammed an unbeaten 41 off 35 balls with four fours and two sixes, while Matt Taylor raced to an unbeaten 31 off 29 balls to seal a tense chase in the final over.Blair Tickner and Kieran Noema-Barnett took two wickets each, although the latter was expensive, leaking 59 runs in 10 overs. Patel finished with 1 for 52.

Asela Gunaratne, who struck 84 runs in a match-winning effort in Geelong, said the support Sri Lanka received during the first two T20s helped win the series

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Feb-2017A partisan Melbourne crowd played its part in Sri Lanka’s exquisite series victory, Asela Gunaratne said after his unbeaten knock of 84 from 46 balls in only his sixth T20 international propelled Sri Lanka to their 174 target in Geelong.Partisan because although the first two T20s were ostensibly away matches, Sri Lanka’s limited-overs games in Melbourne have long attracted booming support from the large Sri Lankan population in the city. Most of the 41,000 in attendance at the MCG on Friday had been Sri Lanka supporters, and the Geelong – an hour’s drive from Melbourne – crowd had been no different. “Papare” music was heard in the stands, which also produced roars of delight when the winning runs were struck as Gunaratne’s team-mates charged the field to hoist him up on their shoulders.”There was so much support, it was like we were playing in Sri Lanka,” Gunaratne said. “That’s a huge strength for us – the way they were always cheering. It helped us finish the match.”We had a chance to win the series, and if we had missed that chance, it would have been a big waste. I was really happy. Winning a series in Australia is something special.”A Sri Lanka victory seemed unlikely for a large portion of the chase, because by the end of the fifth over they were reduced to 5 for 41. The required rate then climbed to ten by the halfway stage, but Gunaratne felt there always seemed a “good chance of winning” so he plotted Sri Lanka’s way out of the hole they had got themselves in.First came the 52-run stand with Chamara Kapugedera, which allowed Gunaratne to settle at the crease – even if those runs had come at only 6.5 an over. From there, Gunaratne worked to put Sri Lanka within striking distance in the final overs. When 36 runs were required from the last 12 balls, he sprung spectacularly into action.Asela Gunaratne struck three consecutive sixes in the penultimate over as Sri Lanka clinched a memorable series win•AFP

“My plan with two overs left was to hit 20 runs in that over – preferably without running at all,” Gunaratne said. “Thankfully, 22 came in that over and when it got down to 14 off the last one, that was much easier. Well, no matter how tough it is, it’s something that had to be done. In the end, it worked out.”Gunaratne had been kept scoreless off the first ball of that penultimate over, but struck sixes off each of the next three balls to loosen Australia’s grip on the game. He was constantly shuffling to the offside to open up leg, and said he always had a good idea where his best boundary options were.”I was always looking to target those small boundaries” he said. “The longer sides were obviously going to be harder to hit to. It all paid off and I’m very happy, because all I thought of was finishing the match.”Sri Lanka No. 3 Dilshan Munaweera said Gunaratne’s innings made his team-mates’ “dreams come true”.”From a Sri Lankan, I think that’s the best T20 knock I’ve seen,” Munaweera said. “He was hitting such good bowlers – the Australian bowlers have recently played the Big Bash, so they were on rhythm. He made it count and batted through the innings. We [the players] were like supporters [in the dugout] and he made our dreams come true.”Sri Lanka are yet to lose a T20 international in Australia after five matches there. Though they do not have a flagship T20 domestic tournament like Australia do, Munaweera said Sri Lanka have a natural inclination to the shortest format.”Altogether we have played so much competitive cricket in T20s – not just here,” he said. “If you look at our stats, we’ve been to plenty of finals in the World T20, and we have won once. I think it doesn’t matter where we play. The format is suited to us, and our boys are on the game.”