Charith Asalanka, bowlers lead Sri Lanka to 4-run win, 3-1 series lead over Aus

A fighting maiden ODI century by Charith Asalanka followed by an impressive bowling effort led Sri Lanka to a thrilling fourrun win over Australia in the fourth ODI and helped them take an unassailable 31 lead in the fivematch series at R Premadasa Stadium here on TuesdayRiding on Asalankas century 110 off 106 Sri Lanka posted a total of 258 all out in 49 overs On a deck that was assisting the spinners the hosts then threw 43 overs of spin at Australia and emerged victorious despite some late hiccups in a lastball thrillerThe spinners picked seven of the 10 Australian wickets on the day It was Sri Lankas first ODI series win over Australia in 30 yearsChasing a challenging target David Warner sealed up one end but he lost many partners Aaron Finch his opening partner fell early on and he was swiftly followed back into the dugout by Mitchell Marsh Marnus Labuschagne and Alex CareyMarsh 26 Labuschagne 14 and Carey 19 got off to decent starts but failed to convert them and got out at regular intervals Warner however proved to be the biggest thorn for Sri Lanka and kept the scoreboard ticking and brought up a brilliant halfcenturyDespite Warners best efforts the lack of support from the other end led to Australias downfall Warner looked well on course to notch up his 19th ODI ton but his innings ended in heartbreak as he fell just one short of the mark stumped on 99 off Dhananjaya de SilvaThe offspinner played a major role in turning the tide of the match as he also snared Travis Head 27 just as a partnership was brewing between him and Warner Pat Cummins 35 off 43 was Australias last hope and he kept the visitors in the game before he got out in the 48th overAlso ReadAustralia cricketing legend Lisa Sthalekar becomes first female FICA PresidentAustralia needed 19 off the last over with only one wicket in hand But Matthew Kuhnemann 15 gave Sri Lanka a scare by showcasing some improvisation The No 10 batter sliced Dasun Shanaka for a boundary off the second ball and followed it up by lapping and lofting the Sri Lanka captain to bring the equation down to five off one ballHowever Shanaka held his nerves used the slower ball and pitched it around back of a length with Kuhnemann spooning a catch to the fielder at cover giving Sri Lanka a memorable winEarlier put in to bat first Sri Lanka got off to the worst possible start as Glenn Maxwell outfoxed Niroshan Dickwella in the second over and then Kusal Mendis saw his stumps uprooted after a beautiful delivery by Pat Cummins Mitchell Marsh also made an immediate impact getting the vital wicket of Patum Nissanka as the hosts found themselves reeling at 343From there on Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka steadied the ship After a sedate start the pair upped the ante registering a 101run partnership off just 100 deliveries Dhananjaya de Silva perished relatively soon after reaching his halfcentury but Asalanka carried on to make it count bigAsalanka continued to battle hard for the Lankan cause registering some crucial partnerships with Dunith Wellalage and Wandindu Hasaranga In the process he also brought up his maiden international ton Hasaranga 21 not out off 20 and Wellalage 19 off 35 also played handy knocks as Sri Lanka posted 258 in 49 overs which turned out to be a winning total in the endBrief scores Sri Lanka 258 in 49 overs Charith Asalanka 110 Mitchell Marsh 229 beat Australia 254 in 50 overs David Warner 99 Chamika Karunaratne 219 Dhananjaya de Silva 239 by four runsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever