3rd Match: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 128 runs

The first full match favored the home team! It was a repeat of the last world cup final and this time also Australia stood tall! Nathan Bracken finished with his career best figure of 5 for 47. The slow pitch helped Australia to put a decent start. Gilly and Hayden started well and Hayden scored 42 off the 65 runs for the first wicket. Gilchrist once thought would convert his 50 into a hundred, disappointed the crowd when he was struck in front of the wicket for 61. Oh, poor Pointing, he was dismissed for 9. Michael Clarke stayed in the crease till the end of the last ball, but Symonds (12) and Hussey (10) didn't last in the crease. Clarke and Hopes added 63 runs in 48 balls. Hopes scored 34 in 29 balls and Clarke was not out on 77 of 86 balls with 2 fours and a six. Muralitharan didn't pick a wicket surprisingly, but bowled well to end with none for 42 of his 10 overs. Vaas and Amerasinghe picked two wickets each.

The Sri Lankan lost the wicket of Jayasuria early and then it started loosing wickets at regular intervals. Sangakkara continued his form from the last test thought to be a danger man, but didn't last long either. He scored 42 and the fourth batsman to fall in the 20th over.

Australia gained a crucial bonus point and is leading the table with 7 points at the end of the first round, India in the 2nd place with 4 points and Sri Lanka in the last place with 2 points.

Final Score
Australia 253 for 6 in 50 overs (Gilchrist 61; Hayden 42; Clark 77 Not Out; Hopes 34; Vaas 2 for 34; Amerasinghe 2 for 66) beat Sri Lanka 125 all out in 31.3 overs (Sangakkara 42; Bracken 5 for 47)
Man of the Match: Bracken (Australia)