RECORDS fell as Australia beat Sri Lanka by 167 runs in Sydney to set up a deciding match in the VB Series final in Brisbane tomorrow. Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds added 237 for the fourth wicket — a record one-day partnership for Australia — while the total of 368 for five was also the best for the country.
Muttiah Muralitharan established a more ignominious piece of history by conceding the most runs — 99 — in a ten-over spell. Chaminda Vaas had restricted Australia to ten for three before Ponting, with 124, and Symonds, who scored 151, took advantage of a fast outfield, both facing 127 balls.
Mahela Jayawardena apologised to Ponting after claiming a low catch when television replays showed the ball had bounced. Ponting, who has called for players to accept the word of the fielder, stood his ground and received the benefit of the decision of the umpires on the field.
Shoaib Akhtar will miss the rest of Pakistan’s one-day series against India because of an ankle injury suffered against England before Christmas. India drew level 1-1 with a seven-wicket win at Rawalpindi.
England will face India in the Under-19 World Cup semi-final on Wednesday. They beat Bangladesh by five wickets in the quarter-final, a surprising result, given their poor results in Bangladesh late last year. Graeme White, a left-arm spin bowler from Northamptonshire, conceded only 11 runs from ten overs.