Asalanka helps Lanka clinch series against Oz

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka held its nerve to defeat Australia by four runs and take an unassailable 3-1 led in the five-match series. After setting Australia a 259-run target, the host took wickets at regular intervals until 19 was needed off the last over. Matthew Kuhnemann made things interesting by hitting three fours in the over to bring down the equation to five needed off the last ball. However, Dasun Shanaka dismissed the Australian batter to help his side script a thrilling win. Earlier, Charith Asalanka hit his maiden one-day century and rescued Sri Lanka from a top order collapse before Australia bowled out his side for 258 in Tuesday’s fourth ODI match. The host slipped to 34-3 after being put into bat first, with fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh and spinner Matthew Kuhnemann each taking two wickets. Glenn Maxwell struck first with his off-spin to get wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella stumped for one in the second over of the innings. Cummins soon sent back Kusal Mendis for 14 and previous match hero Pathum Nissanka fell for 13 off Marsh. But a 101-run partnership between the left-handed Asalanka (110) and Dhananjaya de Silva (60) brought their team back to a respectable total with a mix of caution and aggression.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 258 in 49 overs (C Asalanka 110, D de Silva 60) bt Australia 254 in 50 overs (D Warner 99)