Australia made easy work of an inexperienced Sri Lankan side, chasing down their target of 213 with six wickets and a whopping 19 overs to spare in the fourth One-Day International (ODI) at Dambulla. After choosing to bat first, the Lankans yet again failed to build partnerships, and were only saved by a fighting effort from Dhananjaya de Silva (76 from 87 balls), who was promoted to open the innings.
Australia's John Hastings finished with career-best figures of six for 45, helping bowl the hosts out for 212. Led by a thrilling 19-ball 55 by Aaron Smith and George Bailey (90 not out), the Aussies overtook the meagre total easily to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Given that Sri Lanka had to win to stay in contention in the series, they rang in the changes ruthlessly. But 18-year-old opener Avishka Fernando made a forgettable debut, with Mitchell Starc once again getting a breakthrough in the opening over. When Sri Lanka's batting stars through the series, Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal, departed, the Lankans knew they had their task cut out.
Not for the first time, Angelo Mathews experimented with the opening pair. This time, the gritty De Silva weathered the storm with his skipper, who suffered a nasty injury. The three Pereras in the Sri Lankan middle order, Angelo, Kusal and Thisara, didn't last long, though tail-enders Sachith Pathirana and Dilruwan Perera rallied around Mathews to give the bowlers a target to bowl at.
Under lights, there was turn aplenty, but it was of those days where Australia's aggression paid off. Sri Lanka, who came into the match with a spin-heavy bowling attack, were taken to the cleaners by Finch early on. Bowlers Amila Aponso and Dilruwan Perera were never allowed to settle down, and the boundaries came thick and fast for Finch, who hammered his way to the joint-fastest half-century for Australia, taking only 18 balls.
Pathirana took three wickets in his first two overs at a time when the visitors were running away with the contest. Usman Khawaja's forgetful tour continued as he was dismissed for a duck. Dilruwan Perera did scalp Travis Head with a beautiful off-spinner, but the decision was overturned because it was found to be a no-ball.
Bailey then used his experience to steer the chase to perfection. The boundaries were no longer being hit as frenetically as when Finch was around, but they came at regular intervals. There were shouts of triumph from the Australian bench as Matthew Wade heaved Dilruwan Perera over deep mid-wicket. The ODI world champions had suffered a nightmare Test tour, but there was some vindication at last.
Brief Scores
Sri Lanka 212 in 50 Overs (Dhananjaya de Silva 76, Angelo Mathews 40; John Hastings 6/45) lost to Australia 217/4 in 31 Overs (George Bailey 90 not out, Aaron Finch 55; Sachith Pathirana 3/37) by 6 wickets.