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Geelong: Asela Gunaratne's fifty helps Sri Lanka win second Twenty20 International (T20I) by two wickets at Geelong Cricket Ground on Sunday and take 2-0 lead in the three-match T20 series.
On stage, the visitors were 5 for 40 in fifth over.
Gunaratne, who played an anchor role in series opener, held his nervous till the end and took his side over the line by hitting the last ball of the innings for a boundary.
After being reduced to 40 for five, Chamara Kapugedera and Asela Gunaratne shared a 52 run stand for the sixth wicket. Kapugedera was looking solid when Ben Dunk took a stunner at mid-off as he took an overhead catch.
Sri Lankan skiper Upul Tharanga was first to depart as Ashton Turner provided the early breakthrough in the first over itself.
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka asked Australia to bat first. The hosts their captain early before Ben Dunk and Michael Klinger put up a 45 run stand for the second wicket while after Dunk’s dismissal Klinger and Mouises Henriques shared a fifty-run partnership to power Australia over 150.
Henriques brought up his maiden T20 fifty in 33 balls with two fours and two maximums
Australia got off to a flying start, hitting 60 runs in the first six overs, and although medium-pacer Nuwan Kulasekara took four wickets, Moises Henriques made an unbeaten 56 off 37 balls to lift the hosts to a decent total of 173.
Sri Lanka stumbled early as their top order collapsed, losing five wickets for 41 runs in the first five overs.
A spirited 52-run partnership between Gunaratne and Chamara Kapugedera steadied the innings, however, before the 31-year-old Gunaratne took charge to guide his side to an unlikely victory.
Australia are fielding a depleted side with their full-strength test squad currently in India. The third and final match of the series will be played on Wednesday in Adelaide..
Brief scores
Australia - 173 (Henriques 56*, Klinger 43, Dunk 32, Kulasekara 4-31)
Sri Lanka - 8 for 176 (Gunaratne 84*, Kapugedera 32, Tye 3-37)
Result - Sri Lanka won by 2 wickets
