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Australia cruise past Lanka in Aiwa Cup opener

Brief scores: Australia 206/9 in 43 overs; Sri Lanka 160 all out

The one aberration of the 1999 World Cup, earlier this year, was that defending champions Sri Lanka never got to play eventual winners Australia -- a matchup that, given the history between these two sides, would have been interesting for more reasons than one.

We got that matchup finally, at the Galle International Stadium in Sri Lanka -- but the home side is not the force it once was, and the encounter fell predictably flat.

The Lankan board hasn't given any official reason for the sacking of Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda D'Silva, Hashan Tillekeratne and Roshan Mahanama -- but the effect is there for all to see. Lanka lacked both the experience, and the nerve, to chase a small-ish target on a wearing track -- and those watching would have found themselves missing the solidity of Aravinda and the cunning of Ranatunga as the Australian bowlers took the game home without really breaking up a sweat.

With rain the previous day and the pitch liable to sweat a touch, there was some doubt about what the track would do early on. On the surface it looked the kind of hard subcontinental belter -- but appearances were obviously deceptive. Jayasuriya, winning the toss, opted to bowl first so his bowlers could have a go while the pitch was fresh -- a good enough ploy, but for it to work, the opening bowlers had to be on line and length straightaway.

Neither Vaas nor Zoysa came anywhere close -- and Australia got off to a smooth start, putting up 59 in the first ten overs with no visible sign of discomfort. Zoysa, after two wayward overs, settled into a decent line and length, but by then the damage had been done, the Aussie openers were away and from then on, it was going to be uphill for the bowling side.

Lanka -- in rather fortuitous fashion -- managed to claw its way back into the game. Mark Waugh, who looked in ominous touch, played one of his trademark lazy flicks at a ball from Suresh Perera on line of middle, chipping it up for square leg to take a good one, the wicket falling against the run of play.

Then came a shocker. Gilchrist got one down to third man, and was a tad slow on his first run. Ponting pushed for the second, Gilchrist accelerated and looked to have made his ground. The action replay -- and we need to point out that this is what third umpire DN Pathirana used to make his decision -- showed that Kaluwitharana fumbled the throw, the ball slipped out of his glove, the wicket was broken by the keeper without the ball in his hand, so that was a 'not out' right there. But more crucially, Gilchrist was well inside his ground when the stumps were broken -- the umpire, however, opted to press the red button, and Australia suddenly had two new batsmen at the crease and a repair job on hand.

The Aussies haven't had any cricket worth the name after the World Cup win, and the rust showed most especially on Lehmann, who, try as he would, couldn't seem to middle the ball to either spin or pace. Muralitharan, fresh from a wonderful run in the English county circuit, was getting good turn and bounce and that added to the pressure on the batsmen.

Gilchrist was just looking to have batted himself back into a semblance of form when Ponting pushed one on the on side and took off, Gilchrist ambled across and Vaas, with a flat hard throw to the keeper's end, caught the left hander out of his ground to have Australia down to 109/3.

His dismissal coincided with a sharp spell of rain, and when play resumed, the game had been reduced to 43 overs a side. Tom Moody came in ahead of Steve Waugh, ostensibly to up the scoring. A good ploy, but it would have worked better if the big man had waited to judge the pitch before swinging for the sidelines. However, he seemed in an almighty rush and Jayasuriya, who bowled with venom, tossing the ball up in conditions suiting spin, got him as the batsman walked out without getting to the pitch, the ball held back a bit and spun away from the right hander to give Kalu an easy stumping.

From then on, it was all -- well, almost all -- Jayasuriya. In short order, he did his opposite number with a beauty, pitching middle, turning the ball just enough to go past the outer edge of Steve Waugh's defensive bat and take out off stump, to reduce Australia to 132/5.

Ponting was looking to play the anchor role with wickets tumbling at the other end, when Jayasuriya struck again -- this time, the ball was floated right up to the right hander, the turn away from the bat beating Ponting as he came down the track looking to chip, and Kalu had another easy stumping to reduce Australia to 159/6.

That dismissal in fact was typical of Ponting -- he tends to play bowlers like Murali quite well, but has in the past been in trouble against the likes of Harbajan and Saqlain Mushtaq, both of whom can drift the ball away from the right hander.

Andrew Symonds is reputed to be a big hitter. We didn't see enough of him to judge, but one instance was enough to indicate that this guy could be trouble for bowlers when he settles. The instance in point was a Jayasuriya delivery on middle which Symonds looked to paddle. The batsman found the ball was not as full as the stroke demanded, and moreover it was turning away from him -- so, with admirable presence of mind, he turned the paddle into a nudge, and worked runs to third man. Good thinking, and his pickup and follow through had sufficient signs to indicate that when he hits them, the results could be worth watching.

While Bevan with his usual chip and run antics kept one end going, Jayasuriya completed a fine five wicket haul, first foxing Shane Warne into playing one back down the track for an easy caught and bowled, then dragging Gillespie outside his crease for yet another Kaluwitharana stumping to take two wickets in two balls. Thanks largely to his efforts, Australia managed just 206 in the allotted 43 overs, before Messers Duckworth and Lewis did their sums and decreed that the Lankan target would be 212 off 43 overs.

For Lanka, it was a bit of an iffy performance in the field. Jayasuriya didn't make too many obvious mistakes, but always seemed undecided whether to attack or just keep things tight and let the Australians make the mistakes. Among the bowlers, Vaas was completely off line and length, Zoysa had a bad start before settling down, Perera seemed competent as third seamer without however looking penetrative, and it was only the pairing of Murali and Jayasuriya that pegged the world champions back.

When the Lankans began their reply, the big point of interest was whether Sanath Jayasuriya, running an atrocious run of form of late, would find in the captaincy sufficient inspiration to get back to his best scoring form.

He didn't -- as early as the second over, the Lankan captain played the most abysmal hoik-flick at a Fleming delivery of fuller length, put it up in the air and gave mid on the simplest of takes, and Lanka had lost their most experienced batsman before the chase was even officially on.

I for one am an unabashed fan of Jason Gillespie. To see why, you need to get a side on view as he runs in to bowl -- the run up is fluid yet economical, and he has the most picture perfect delivery stride in the modern game -- legs well spread, the left hand thrown back, the eyes sighting the batsman past the curve of the left elbow, the right hand straight and coming into the delivery with good handspeed. All the earmarks of a top quick, in fact -- and here, on a placid pitch, he showed why he can be lethal, getting pace, lift and seam movement with apparently little effort. If this bloke can keep from being on the injured list as often as he is on the team list, he's going to be hell in tandem with Glenn McGrath (who sat this one out with a minor thigh niggle).

Gillespie began the rout in the fifth over, angling one nicely across the left handed Avishka Gunwardene, beating him for pace as the batsman tried to flay the ball and taking the edge for Gilchrist to hold with ease.

The bowler then went after Mahela Jayawardene, making the right handed vice captain's time at the crease a hairy one with a series of deliveries just short, climbing into the rib cage at a brisk pace and seaming in to add a little wrinkle to the overall challenge. Jayawardene kept a couple of those out, but finally found it all too much for him, jabbed at a climber and gave square leg a sharp chance.

He then produced a deceptively easy dismissal. The ball was very full, very fast, and with just that slight touch of inward movement for Atapattu, walking into a push, to be beaten for both speed and movement, the ball going through the gate to set the stumps in disarray.

Sri Lanka were 41/4, and if their blushes were spared to some extent, all thanks to Kaluwitharana. The guy is a fighter in the Moin Khan mould and, when the ball is on the short side, can hit with the horizontal bat as hard as any in the game. In company of debutant Indika de Sharam -- a rather compact right hander who comes into line of the quick stuff without flinching -- Kalu led a little fight back before Moody took out the latter with a con job of a ball. The tall all rounder had been pitching three quarter length and using his height to get lift and keep the batsman pinned on the back foot. Yet again, he ambled in, hit that perfect three quarter length, Indika went back and raised his bat anticipating one just under the ribs -- only, Moody had let this one slip easy out of his hand, he wasn't hitting the deck on this one, the ball therefore didn't get up as much as Indika anticipated, but merely sneaked under the bat to take out middle stump.

Tight bowling, good fielding and the inexperience of the Lankan batting all meant that the ask was climbing all the time. Kalu tried to do something about it, and twice on the run pulled at Fleming, getting a brace each time. The third ball in the sequence was pitched short outside off -- only, Fleming produced the change up in pace, Kalu flashed, looking for the slash through point, was beaten by the extra speed on the ball and managed only to touch to the keeper.

Chandana was mixing the push and run tactic with the odd hard hit, when a bad mix up saw him first called for a run, then sent back. Lehmann, the bowler (on the day, he did a Jayasuriya, bowling his left arm orthodox stuff on a very good length and getting turn and bounce to keep the batsman honest) came down quickly on the follow through and his throw found the base of the stumps, no question which way the verdict was going on that one.

Suresh Perera appears to have a decent touch with the bat -- you could back this guy to get you 15, 20 useful runs against most bowling attacks. However, Lanka's ask rate was climbing all the time, and Perera succumbed, lashing out at Warne without getting to the pitch and managing only to put it up for Bevan to take easily at long off.

Lehmann, whose stint with the ball had done a lot to turn the screws on the Lankans, then produced a breathtaking catch. Vaas took a hoik at Warne and, at first blush, looked to have found the gap on the on side. Lehmann ran from deep midwicket towards long on, the ball coming over his shoulder as he flung himself headlong to grasp with both hands at full stretch -- a blinder in the outfield, indicating that whatever rust there is on his bat, his reflexes are working in mid season form.

You don't expect Muralitharan to trouble the scorers to any remarkable extent, so that was pretty much the end of the game, Australia walking out comfortable winners. Steve Waugh's field placing and bowling changes were indication that he hadn't lost his edge, and Gillespie's return to the side appears to have given Australia a potent weapon -- and much cause for concern for opponents. Warne didn't get much turn on a track that Murali and Jayasuriya enjoyed bowling on, so that is going to be one cause of concern for the world champs.

Meanwhile, the game itself has some lessons for Tendulkar's Indians, who play their first game tomorrow. Lesson one -- rain or no rain, you need to bowl an English length if you want your seam bowlers to succeed. Two, this track is spin-friendly, so two seamers (Srinath and Prasad) and two spinners (Kumble and Chopra) with Ganguly, Jadeja, Tendulkar and Robin Singh used to the max would appear to be the lineup to go with. And finally, if you win the toss, bat, even if the conditions are overcast and the temptation is to let your bowlers lose -- simply because as the day goes on, the pitch is getting slower and slower, and chasing any kind of target at all is going to be very very dicey (remember, they use this same pitch for tomorrow's game).

24 hours from now, though, we will know just what lessons the Indians took out of this game... till which time, adios...

Scoreboard