Cricket: Australia struggle against Sri Lanka

11.30pm

PORT ELIZABETH - Australia struggled to 212 for seven in their World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka on another slow, turning St George's Park pitch tonight.

Andrew Symonds, who averaged 117.5 coming into the match, top-scored for the defending champions with an unbeaten 91 from 118 balls with seven fours and a six

Sri Lanka's left-arm opening bowler Chaminda Vaas, joint World Cup record holder with 20 wickets before the game, took three for 34 from his 10 overs.

Earlier, vice-captain Adam Gilchrist walked after being given not out in Aravinda de Silva's first over.

Gilchrist swept at the second ball of the veteran off spinner's first over, the ball flew high off the pad and Kumar Sangakkara raced around from the stumps to seize the ball and appeal loudly.

Rudi Koertzen, standing in his 100th one-day international, showed no sign of giving Gilchrist out but the left-hander was already on his way back to the pavilion for 22.

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* Matthew Hayden scored the first runs off the bat with the final ball off Vaas's opening over, turning the ball to fine leg for two. Gilchrist straight drove Pulasthi Gunaratne for four then picked the next ball off his legs and hit the ball high over midwicket for six. Gilchrist square cut Gunaratne for another four in his next over and Hayden collected his first boundary with an on drive off Vaas.

* Gilchrist swept at de Silva's second ball and walked after a vociferous Sri Lanka appeal. 35-1, 6 overs.

* Australia captain Ricky Ponting checked a drive against Vaas's slower delivery and lobbed the ball to mid-off where Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya took a tumbling catch. Hayden reached 20 with two fours when he failed to get to the pitch of the ball and hit an on drive straight to Hashan Tillakaratne at short midwicket. Symonds survived an appeal for caught behind off Gunaratne and hit the next for four through the on side. 64-3, 15 overs.

* Symonds and Darren Lehmann played cautiously taking singles as Australia consolidated. 82-3, 20 overs.

* Jayasuriya called up his leading bowler Muttiah Muralitharan and the off spinner responded by spinning the first two viciously into Symonds's pads. Symonds took two fours off loose deliveries in the next over from Gunaratne. 102-3, 25 overs.

* Symonds was lucky to survive a stumping chance off Jayasuriya when Sangakkara fumbled the ball with the Australian out of his crease. He was on 33 at the time with the total on 111. 119-3, 30 overs.

* Symonds brought up his 50 from 69 balls off Jayasuriya in the 33rd over, crashing his fifth boundary through the covers. He took a further four off the Sri Lanka skipper in the same over. Lehmann reached 36 from 66 balls before he was bowled off stump off the inside edge pushing forward to Jayasuriya. 144-4, 35 overs.

* Vaas returned to the attack and beat Symonds three times outside the off stump in the course of a maiden over.

* Michael Bevan pushed forward to his first ball from Jayasuriya and snicked the ball to Sangakkara, bringing Brad Hogg to the crease with one run in his previous three World Cup innings. The 150 came up off 37.5 overs with Muralitharan back in the attack. 155-5, 40 overs.

* Hogg was neatly stumped by Sangakkara, over-balancing against de Silva. Symonds hit de Silva for a huge six over long on in his final over. De Silva retired from the attack with excellent figures of 10-0-36-2. 160-6, 41 overs.

* Ian Harvey (7) pushed forward to Vaas and was easily caught behind. 175-7, 44 overs.

* Andy Bichel, the batting saviour against England and New Zealand, hit Gunaratne for a six and four off consecutive balls in an penultimate over costing 16. 212-7, 50 overs.

- REUTERS

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