Sri Lanka were well placed at 146/3 in the 33rd over when a heavy downpour interrupted play in their World Cup Group A
clash against Australia at Colombo on Saturday.Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera brought up their fifty run partnership for the 4th wicket as Sri Lanka consolidated in their World Cup Group A clash against Australia at Colombo on Saturday.
After sharing a 44-run stand with skipper Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene was run out by Steve Smith's direct throw.
Skipper Sangakkara and experienced batsman Mahela Jayawardene steadied the Sri Lankan ship after Australian pacers sent their openers back early in the innings.
Hard-hitting batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan lost his cool after an exchange of words with Aussie speedster Shaun Tait and gave away his wicket cheaply.
Other opener Upul Tharanga was also caught brilliantly at the square point by Steve Smith.
Sangakkara won the toss and without any hesitation decided to bat first in their Group A match.
The home side decided to go in with three spinners for the game. Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan retained their places, while left-arm spinner Rangana Herath replaced medium pacer Nuwan Kulasekara.
Australia, on the other hand, kept the same side that hammered New Zealand in their last game.
Australia were all charged up after their wins against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, while Sri Lanka also returned to the winning ways, after their loss to Pakistan, as they registered an easy win against Kenya.
Aussie trio of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson were firing with all cylinders and destroyed the batting line up of both the sides they had played so far.
Ricky Ponting would hope that the pacers continue their fiery stuff against Sri Lanka, which was expected to be loaded with a number of spinners.
Teams:
Sri Lanka: W Tharanga, T Dilshan, K Sangakkara (Capt), M Jayawardene, T Samaraweera, C Silva, A Mathews, R Herath, L Malinga, M Muralitharan, A Mendis
Australia: S Watson, B Haddin, R Ponting (Capt), M Clarke, D Hussey, C White, S Smith, M Johnson, J Krejza, B Lee, S Tait
