Sri Lanka stunned Australia in their third and final Twenty20 International when skipper Dasun Shanaka scored an unbeaten half-century to give his side a spectacular end-of-life victory on Saturday.
The hosts were chasing a target of 177 runs to end the series on a high after losing badly in the first two matches.
Shanaka scored an unbeaten 54 off 25 balls with the help of five fours and four sixes to win by four wickets.
Shanaka and tailender Chamika Karunaratne shared a 69-run stand for the seventh wicket when they were struggling at 108 for six in the 15th over.
Sri Lanka needed 59 runs from the last three overs, with the pair facing key bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson.
Needing 19 runs in the final over bowled by Hazlewood, the captain hit two fours and a six and leveled the score with one ball to spare.
Hazlewood then bowled a wide for the home team to win.
Meanwhile, one of the umpiring incidents invited the wrath of fans on Kumar Dharmasena. This happened during the last ball of the last over which was bowled by Jhye Richardson.
By this time the bowler had conceded 16 runs in the first five balls of his over. He was trying for a dot ball and bowled a wide yorker which Dharmasena called a “wide”. This meant an extra ball and an odd run which now reduced the required equation to 19 in the last six balls.
– The umpiring of Kumara Dharmasena looked really biased towards Sri Lanka in today’s time #SLVSAUS
1. Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s LBW was clear, but he didn’t
2. Jhye Richardson’s 18.6 was not wide at any angle, yet gave– Dasun Shanaka is a really good pace hitter
— Koksal (@Koksal_PBKS) 11 June 2022
Don’t forget the contribution of Dharmasena.
— Yusuf (@PlatignumWater) 11 June 2022
trust me, it’s a given
“Expanded” by Shri DharmasenaSri Lanka is also playing with the umpires.
discrimination. #Australia #Cricket @ICC pic.twitter.com/xwipn7sW9o
— ️ Kirkut Expert (@ghante56) 11 June 2022
Dharmasena doing their thing pic.twitter.com/nM84QeD15G
— Rafe Awan🇵🇰 (@CricCrazyRafay) 11 June 2022
Kumar won the match #dharmsena SL. for
Just before the last over, wide makes and breaks
this time i’m with you @daniel86cricket
neutral umpire needed#notcricket @ICC #AUSvsSL— Himanshu (@himanshuehs) 11 June 2022
Shanaka’s innings, which featured five fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 216, ensured that Sri Lanka scored 59 runs in the last three overs to win the match, the most by any team to win a men’s T20 match. is run. In the last three overs, he broke the previous record of 56 held by the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League (BBL).
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