By Srian Obeyesekere

Kusal Mendis struck a telling Player of the Match century 101 off 115 balls filled with 11 boundaries as Sri Lanka inflicted their biggest ODI defeat on Australia by a whopping 174 runs of the second and final day match for a 2-0 series clean sweep at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium yesterday in what was a remarkable flashback to 2016 when he broke into the big stage with a scintillating test century 176 as a 22-year old in a historic 3-nil whitewash that saw the right hander arrive with a bang with his ODI ton 8 years hence dealing Steve Smith’s Australians a demoralizing blow for the upcoming Champions Trophy as the Lankan pace-spin attack led by the fiery Asitha Fernando who broke the back of the Aussie batting accounting for the first three wickets of Matthew Short leg before for 2, Jake Fraser McGurk snapped up by Asalanka for 9, and Travis Head brilliantly caught by substitute Avishka Fernando for 18 as the visitors wobbled to 3 for 33 in the power play followed by Dunith Wellalage clean bowling Josh Inglis for 22 with the magical leg spin of Wanindu Hasaranga nailing Smith leg before wicket for 29 after Wellalage had bowled the dangerous Glenn Maxwell for 1 as Australia lost successive wickets to a low of 7 for 83 after 17.1 overs and three deliveries later trapping Sean Abbot leg before or his third wicket with Wellalage mopping up with the last two wickets of Ben Dwarshuls held by Eshan Malinga for 9 and bowling Adam Zampa for 8 in that routing for 107 in 24.2 overs.  Wellalage was the pick with a 4 for 35 haul from 7.2 overs.

The heartening significance of Mendis’ innings was the maturity that he has infused to his batting following a shaky period that followed his great entry to the international firmament which he has over the years nipped in the bud by clearly mastering the finer points of building an innings.

It must be said that although it was not a full strength Australian side in the fray yesterday with particularly fast bowling regular captain Pat Cummins rested and key fast bowler Hazlewood injury sidelined and Mitchell Starc rested, end of the day it was quite a compatible fold that was humiliated by a high riding Charith Asalanka’s Sri Lankans as the Lankan captain followed up his cameo run a ball 127 that swept the Aussies off their feet in the first game in scoring an unbeaten 78 off 66 balls coloured by 3 over the top and 6 to the ropes in a 94-run run fourth wicket bonding with Asalanka off 103 balls following a cornerstone second wicket 85 stand of 55 between Mendis and young Nishan Madushka who responded to having being sidelined with a typical composed comeback 51 off 70 with 4 boundaries.

If Madushka, brought in for Avishka Fernando following his early dismissal in the opener, infused an air of authority to building an innings in a phase out together with Kusal Mendis after the usually reliable Pathum Nissanka had been bowled by Aaron Hardle for 6, in that fruity second wicket repairing, the Mendis-Asalanka bonding in the wake of the new found prolific ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2024 run getter Kamindu Mendis was bowled for 4 in a worrying lean run of late, was indeed a muscling strength to Sri Lanka getting its act together with the skipper’s firepower stroke play of a continuing form glee to upping the team’s ODI resurgence from a lean past and still more importantly in burying the 5 for 55 wreck in the first game that nearly saw Australia nail the host team but for Asalanka’s Trojan like back to the wall battling century.

That No.6 Janith Liyanage brought his worth to the format with a rousing 32 off 21 hammering 2 over the top and 3 across was a pleasing final thrust to the Lankan innings from a slumber following his entry to the firmament that saw him crown himself with a century, in that final thrust in that unfinished 66 fifth-wicket assault off 35 balls was as a pleasing tonic.

Chief Scores

Sri Lanka 281/4 (50 Overs)

(Kusal Mendis 101, Charith Asalanka n.o. 78, Nishan Madushka 51, Janith Liyanage n.o. 32, Sean Abbot 1/41, Adam Zampa 1/47, Aaron Hardle 1/60)

Australia 107 (24.2 Overs)

(Steve Smith 29, Josh Inglis 22, Travis Head 18, Dunith Wellalage 4/35, Asitha Fernando 3/23,

Wanindu Hasaranga 3/23)