Symonds seals Australian win

Australia 227 for 5 (Ponting 63, Martyn 62, Vaas 3-34) beat Sri Lanka 226 for 8 (Jayawardene 80, Gillespie 3-36) by five wickets
Scorecard

Australia bounced back from their one-run defeat at Dambulla, and the distraction of Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds' disciplinary inquiries, to reclaim the advantage in this five-match series with a comfortable five-wicket victory against Sri Lanka under the lights at the Premadasa stadium.

Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke all made important contributions with the bat, but Jason Gillespie was the star of the show, whipping out the cream of Sri Lanka's top order with the new ball early in the day. Gillespie's rampage left Sri Lanka tottering on 36 for 3, a position from which they never recovered as he finished with 3 for 36 from 10 overs.

Mahela Jayawardene led a partial recovery with a 109-ball 80, his highest score in ODIs for over two years, compiling useful partnerships with Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Chandana to set a modest 227-run target.

Vaas then prompted some early jitters in the Australia dressing-room as Matthew Hayden (3) mistimed a cover drive off Muttiah Muralitharan. Five balls later, Vaas found the outside edge of Adam Gilchrist's bat with a curling outswinger and Jayawardene clung onto a regulation chance at second slip (4 for 2).

Ponting, in prime form after scores of 58 and 69 in the first two matches, rolled up his sleeves and reacted positively to his team's precarious position. Martyn was less assured at the start - especially against Nuwan Zoysa, who probed away around his off-stump during an impressive return to international cricket after an 18-month absence - but gradually settled.

The pair quickly wrestled back the initiative, whizzing past 50 in the 13th over of the innings. Both players passed fifty and the century partnership came from just 117 balls. Sangakkara missed a run-out opportunity with a wild throw but other than that Sri Lanka's bowlers rarely looked likely to break through. Until, that is, the arrival of Vaas for a second spell.

It seemed like Atapattu's last throw of the dice and it worked as, in his second over back, Ponting chopped onto his stumps as he tried to steer a single down to third man. Ponting had scored 63 from 75 balls and hit four fours (133 for 3).

That was followed in the next over by a reflex piece of fielding from Sanath Jayasuriya to run out Martyn. Symonds clipped the ball straight back to Jayasuriya, the bowler, who then shovelled the ball onto the stumps with Martyn inches short as he tried to back up (136 for 4).

Suddenly a 15,000-capacity crowd erupted, sensing a home victory. When Michael Bevan was run out for 10, to leave Australia on 159 for 5 needing a run a ball for victory, another thriller was on the cards. But Symonds (45 not out) and Clarke (31 not out) held their nerve and timed the final leg of the run chase perfectly, adding 68 in 66 balls to ease Australia home with nine balls to spare.

Earlier, Gillespie's new-ball blitz had started in the very first over as Jayasuriya fended tentatively at a short-of-a-length delivery and edged straight to Michael Clarke in the gully. Marvan Atapattu, caught in two minds as to whether to play or not, chopped a short ball back onto the off bail. When Gillespie also located the edge of Sangakkara's bat, Sri Lanka were tottering on 36 for 3.

Jayawardene - who scored 61 and 38 in the opening two games - started his repair work with Russel Arnold, adding 20 in 48 balls. And the salvage operation gathered momentum after the arrival of Tillakaratne Dilshan, who scored a breezy run-a-ball 30, as 58 were added in 70 balls.

Upul Chandana also provided good support with an energetic 34, adding 58 in 63 deliveries with Jayawardene as Sri Lanka reached 146 for 5 with ten overs remaining. But a brace of run-outs then stemmed the flow of runs, with Brad Hogg's throws dismissing both Jayawardene and Chandana.

Vaas (24) and Kumar Dharmasena (24 not out) provided some late fireworks to leave Sri Lanka with an outside chance of victory, but it was not to be.