Australia’s bid for a third straight Champions Trophy title has ended in disappointment and their Ashes preparations further damaged, after succumbing to a dramatic 20-run defeat against Sri Lanka at The Oval.
Set a target of 254 to win after choosing to field first, Australia needed to score at a rapid 8.7 runs an over and wrap up the chase in 29.1 overs in order to leapfrog New Zealand into a semi-final berth on net run rate.
They fell well short of that, but some brave batting by tailenders Clint McKay (30) and Xavier Doherty (15no) got Australia close to victory, all out for 233, with a 41-run final wicket stand.
Only a spectacular caught and bowled effort by Tillakaratne Dilshan in the 43rd over secured the win for Sri Lanka, with players running a quarter lap of the ground in celebration in front of a parochial crowd.
England topped pool A, with Sri Lanka also moving into the semis, thanks to a brilliantly calm innings of 84no from Mahela Jayawardene.
But for the Black Caps and Australia, their campaigns are over.
You might like
“It was great to see those guys (McKay and Doherty) battle it out,” said stand-in skipper George Bailey.
“It was a bit of a hard one, once the 29 overs had ticked over a sting went out of it a little bit because we were resigned to the fact the tournament was over for us. But there’s a lot of pride.”
Adam Voges (49 from 62), Glenn Maxwell (32 from 20) and Matthew Wade (31 from 23) threw everything at the chase, but in the end the mountain proved too great to climb.
Mitchell Johnson continued his strong form, taking 3-48, but led by Jayawardene and Lahiru Thirimanne (57) and a late flurry from Dinesh Chandimal (31), Sri Lanka showed great composure to reach a challenging total of 8-253.
Jayawardene said Sri Lanka had to be “creative” to get the job done against Australia.
“They were going hard up front to try and qualify within those 29 overs so we knew there was an opportunity for us to grab wickets which we did,” said Jayawardene.
Stay informed, daily
“It was a fascinating game of cricket.”
Sri Lanka will play India in Cardiff on Thursday, while England face South Africa at The Oval in London on Wednesday in the other semi.
Being knocked out in the pool stages is another significant blow to Australia’s preparations for the Ashes.
Although they were impacted heavily by a rain-abandoned match against New Zealand in Birmingham, Australia were convincingly beaten by England in the opening match, and in a short tournament, a first-up loss like that was always going to make life difficult.
“We said at the start of the tournament that you need to start well for you to dictate terms and so your confidence is up,” Bailey said.
“I would say there was a little bit of bad luck. But that’s part of the game.”
David Warner’s suspension and Michael Clarke’s injury worries continue to haunt Australia less than a month out from the first Test against England at Trent Bridge.
Clarke hasn’t played a match all tour due to his ongoing back complaints, however he is back on the training paddock.
Australia’s fragile batting line-up is also an ongoing issue, with the best performers in the Champions Trophy – Adam Voges and George Bailey – currently not in the Test squad.
