Sri Lanka won the series but lost their last game of the series against the hosts which ended their seven match losing streak. McKay and Starc played a vital role in their victory with both of them picking up 9 wickets together. They have given Australia a boost which was much needed before the start of the Ashes series.
Despite a great performance from Sri Lanka they fell short of focus and temperament in their final game. McKay got his first five-wicket haul and Starc got his first four international wickets as Sri Lanka was reduced to 115 which showed that the pitch was seamer friendly. Sri Lankan skipper won the toss and elected to bat but their batsmen failed to fire in the last game with only 2 batsmen getting into the double figures. McKay’s three early blows left the guests bewildered with 14/3 in just five overs and soon after Starc got his first wicket but had to wait till his spell of nine overs to get his 4 wickets and the hosts were on the top from the start of the game. Sri Lanka was all out in just 32 overs as their much experienced batsmen failed on the occasion. The hosts had no problem getting past the guests score in just 22 overs. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin were just two casualties making 15 and 31 respectively both were sent off by Dilhara Fernando. Clarke who had a difficult time so far had something to smile about as he finished with an unbeaten 50 runs and finished the game for his team.
Sri Lanka won the series in the absence of Nuwan Kulasekara and Muttiah Muralitharan which is a great achievement for them but they will certainly be disappointed with their performance in the final game. Australia on the other hand would be really happy to end their losing streak of seven games and will be going into the Ashes with a positive frame of mind.
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