February 12, 2006	Sunday	Muharram 13, 1427

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SYDNEY, Feb 11: Australia have crashed from unbeatable favourites to facing a must-win match on Sunday against rejuvenated Sri Lanka to prevent losing a home triangular one-day cricket series for the first time in 13 years.

Australia’s suicidal batting performance to hand Sri Lanka a stunning 22-run victory in the opening final in Adelaide on Friday puts skipper Ricky Ponting in a perilous situation in the second final at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Ponting, the skipper of the first Australian team to lose the Ashes last year to England in 18 years, could also become the first home captain to lose a tri-series finals since Allan Border lost out to Richie Richardson’s West Indians in 1993.

Australian coach John Buchanan said the team must brace for the consequences if it loses the tri-series finals to unfancied Sri Lanka, after the humiliation of five run outs and a stumping in their innings of 252 against Sri Lanka’s 274 for eight at Adelaide Oval.

Ponting was a player in 1996-97 and 2001-02, when Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh lost the limited-overs captaincy after failing to make the finals.

Another factor in Australia’s shock loss on Friday was the haemorrhaging of 54 runs in the final five overs of Sri Lanka’s innings to give them a competitive total for the Aussies to chase under lights.

Ponting blamed the leaking of the last five overs as “not good enough”, and left open the possibility that fast bowler Mick Lewis might come into the starting 11 at the SCG.

Buchanan agreed but to do that selectors would have to drop a New South Welshman — Stuart Clark or Nathan Bracken — for a match at their home venue.

One possible cause of the run outs was an underestimation of Sri Lanka in the field with athletic Tillekeratne Dilshan having a hand in four of the five run outs with some breathtaking ground fielding.

Australian slow left-armer Brad Hogg said ground fielding was an area in which the Sri Lankans had made great improvement under their Australian coach Tom Moody and his assistant, renowned fielder Trevor Penney.

But the jubilant Sri Lankans are on the threshold of a momentous series victory at the SCG which plays into their hands with spin to suit the beguiling Muttiah Muralitharan.—AFP