Sri Lanka v Australia

At Dambulla, February 20, 2004 (day/night). Australia won by 84 runs. Toss: Australia.

Sri Lanka matched Australia for much of the game but lost badly in the end: the recurring motif of the tour. After 30 overs they were 133 for three, where Australia had been 145 for two. But neither Sangakkara, who tickled behind, nor Jayawardene, beaten in the flight, could turn a fifty into a match-winning innings. Wickets clattered as the tail struggled with an asking-rate rising past ten an over on a slow, grudging pitch. Hogg took five wickets for just three runs in 14 balls. "Sri Lanka have to improve a lot," said Ponting afterwards. Earlier, his side made 262, smashing the ground record, against a team that had played a solitary one-day international in eight months. With the spinners on after six overs in shirt-drenching heat, Australia's openers rotated the strike and scored 104. Solid middle-order contributions were then eclipsed by a spectacular one from Symonds: 37 in 20 balls, including 19 off the last over.

Man of the Match: G. B. Hogg.