Australia stamp their class all over Sri Lanka

DEFENDING champions Australia demonstrated their ruthless ambition to hang onto their title as they stormed into the World Cup final with a brutal dismissal of Sri Lanka at Port Elizabeth yesterday.

Defending just 212-7 at St George’s Park, they had Sri Lanka struggling at 123-7 off 38.1 overs when torrential rain swept across St George’s Park.

With a revised target of 172 under the Duckworth-Lewis method, the Australians were declared winners by 48 runs.

It was their 16th successive one-day victory and it gave them a place in Sunday’s final at the Wanderers against either India or Kenya.

As soon as Brett Lee bowled Marvan Atapattu with the score on 21, Sri Lanka knew they were in for a hard

afternoon.

It got a lot tougher when Glenn McGrath sent back skipper Sanath Jayasuriya (17) and Lee mopped up Hashan Tillekeratne (three) and Avishka Gunawardene (one) to have them reeling at 43-4.

When Aravinda de Silva was run-out by a direct hit from Andy Bichel for just 11, it was all over even though Kumar Sangakkara, 39, and Chaminda Vaas, 21, tried to mount a rearguard action and were unbeaten when the rains came.

Earlier, Andrew Symonds hit an unbeaten 91 after his team won the toss and elected to bat on another slow pitch but, after being named man-of-the-match, the big-hitting batsman said he could be reduced to a supporting role in the final.

“I was batting lower down the order today and I get the feeling that the guys above me could all make big scores in the final,” said Symonds who also hit a century in the opening win over Pakistan on February 11.

“That innings gave me a roadmap on how best to play the game when the ball gets softer and showed that you need to accumulate runs,” he said.

Meanwhile, India’s coach John Wright, said on Tuesday that he wants to win the title and dedicate it to the passionate fans back home.

“I love the job, I love the passion for cricket in India. The Indian people need, want and deserve a good cricket team, a fighting cricket team,” said Wright ahead of Thursday’s World Cup semi-final against Kenya under the Kingsmead lights at Durban.

The remainder of the tournament is being played out against a background of heightened security with conflict in the Middle East drawing ever nearer.

“We hope and trust that the second semi-final and final will go ahead as planned ,” said a tournament official.