Australia in Sri Lanka, 2011-12

At Hambantota, August 14, 2011 (day/night). Australia won by eight wickets. Toss: Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's already faint hopes of replacing Australia at the top of the one-day rankings vanished completely after a tentative display with the bat and insipidness with the ball. After again opting to take first use of a good pitch, they struggled against the left-arm seam of Bollinger and Johnson (who shared five wickets), and generally erred too far on the side of caution. Between the 11th over, when Jayawardene edged Johnson for four, and the 41st, when Mathews pulled Bollinger to the fence, the only batsman to hit a boundary was Sangakkara - and even he managed only one six and one four during his 85 balls. Despite the return of Malinga following a back injury, Ponting overcame the early loss of Haddin to add 94 with Watson, before sharing another century stand with Clarke and admitting he had felt "fresher" since relinquishing the captaincy after the World Cup.

Man of the Match: R. T. Ponting.