COLOMBO: Australian bowlers set up a four-wicket victory over Sri Lanka to spoil veteran batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan’s farewell and sweep the two-match Twenty20 series here on Friday.

The visitors, who won the first match after scoring a world record 263, rode on opener Glenn Maxwell’s 29-ball 66 to chase down their 129-run target with 13 balls to spare.

Earlier, Aussie bowlers James Faulkner and Adam Zampa claimed three wickets each to restrict the hosts to 128-9 despite Dhananjaya de Silva’s fighting half-century.

Dilshan, who quit the ODI format in the middle of the five-match series which Sri Lanka lost 1-4, scored just one off three balls in his final international game but took two wickets to add drama to Australia’s chase.

Dilshan, 39, who participated in 87 Tests, 330 ODIs and 80 T20s, was given a standing ovation by a raucous home crowd as he ended his 17-year-long glittering career.

However the inventor of the “dilscoop”, the cheeky paddle shot played over the wicket-keeper’s head, did not have a chance to execute the audacious stroke.

Maxwell, fresh from his unbeaten 145 off 65 deliveries on Tuesday, once again turned the spotlight on himself after equalling an Australian record for the fastest T20 fifty in 18 balls.

The 27-year-old batsman, who put on a 93-run opening stand with skipper David Warner, was bowled by leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna after hitting seven fours and four sixes.

Left-arm spinner Sachith Pathirana struck twice in the 10th over of the innings to get Moises Henriques and Warner, who scored 25, trudging back to the pavilion.

Faulkner’s run out in the very next over gave Sri Lanka a scent of a turnaround as Australia suddenly found it difficult to get the remaining runs.

Dilshan then trapped Usman Khawaja lbw with his wily off-spin and got the wicket of Matthew Wade, who scored 14, in his very next over as Australia slipped from 93 for no loss to 120 for six.

Travis Head, who remained unbeaten on nine, hit the winning runs to help Australia finish the two-month long tour on a high after the visitors suffered their first series whitewash in the three Tests.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA:

K. Perera c Warner b Faulkner22 T. Dilshan c Warner b Hastings1 D. de Silva c Faulkner b Starc62 D. Chandimal c&b Faulkner4 K. Mendis lbw b Zampa5 C. Kapugedara c Warner b Zampa7 T. Perera c Head b Zampa0 S. Pathirana c&b Hastings6 S. Prasanna c Khawaja b Faulkner7 S. Senanayake not out7 S. Lakmal not out0

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-5, NB-1)7

TOTAL (for nine wkts; 20 overs)128

FALL OF WKTS: 1-9, 2-44, 3-51, 4-58, 5-76, 6-76, 7-86, 8-114, 9-125.

BOWLING: Starc 4-0-32-1; Hastings 4-0-23-2; Maxwell 1-0-16-0; Faulkner 4-0-19-3; Zampa 4-0-16-3; Henriques 3-0-21-0.

AUSTRALIA:

D. Warner c T. Perera b Pathirana25 G. Maxwell b Prasanna66 M. Henriques st K. Perera b Pathirana1 J. Faulkner run out1 M. Wade c Chandimal b Dilshan14 U. Khawaja lbw b Dilshan6 T. Head not out9 P. Nevill not out3

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-4)5

TOTAL (for six wkts, 17.5 overs)130

FALL OF WKTS: 1-93, 2-97, 3-98, 4-99, 5-113, 6-120.

BOWLING: Lakmal 2-0-15-0; Senanayake 4-0-36-0; Pathirana 2.5-0-23-2, T. Perera 1-0-19-0; Prasanna 4-1-16-1; de Silva 2-0-12-0; Dilshan 2-0-8-2.

DID NOT BAT: M. Starc, A. Zampa, J. Hastings.

RESULT: Australia won by 4 wickets.

SERIES: Australia win the two-match series 2-0.

UMPIRES: Ranmore Martinesz and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (both Sri Lanka).

TV UMPIRE: Raveendra Wimalasiri (Sri Lanka)

MATCH REFEREE: Javagal Srinath (India)

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2016