COLOMBO – Australia’s World Cup Group A showdown with co-hosts Sri Lanka was called off on Saturday after incessant rain made any further play impossible.
Both teams will be awarded one point each. The match was intriguingly poised when the skies opened after huge black clouds had hovered overhead, Sri Lanka on 146 for three after 32.5 overs having won the toss. Captain Kumar Sangakkara (73 not out) and Thilan Samaraweera (34 not out) were still there in an unbroken fourth wicket partnership of 71 runs.
Several huge puddles could be seen swiftly forming after the skies opened at just after 1700 local time (1130 GMT) and the rain was still teeming 2-1/2 hours later.
“It was shaping up to be a helluva match but here we are watching it monsoon down,” one of the umpires, Ian Gould, said. The long-awaited game had looked to be tilted in favour of Australia early on as Tillakaratne Dilshan (4) was caught at slip in Shaun Tait’s first over after a brief battle of wills between the two was won by the Australian paceman.
Sri Lanka were in further trouble when opener Upul Tharanga (6) was brilliantly caught by an air-borne Steve Smith off Brett Lee and Mahela Jayawardene departed for 23 after being run out with the score on 75. But Sangakkara battled brilliantly to guide his side towards a competitive total with an impressive 73 from 102 balls including seven fours. Australia, who have won the last three tournaments, have not lost a match in the World Cup since 1999, a run of 31 games.
The suspension brought back memories of the last time the teams met in the World Cup when a deluge in Bridgetown, Barbados suspended the 2007 final. On that occasion, Sri Lanka returned to bat in the gathering gloom before losing a match forever remembered for its false ending as the umpires halted play in the twilight before returning to the middle for the game’s last rites after Australia had started their team’s celebrations prematurely.
