SL vs Aus, 1st T20I, Pallekele - Video Highlights Online.

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20 overs Sri Lanka 198 for 3 (Dilshan 104*) against Australia

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Sri Lanka's captain Tillakaratne Dilshan lifted the hosts to 198-3 against Australia with a startling century in the first Twenty20 international in Kandy.

Sent in to bat at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, the hosts seemed likely to be held to a total of about 150 before Dilshan (104, 57 balls, 12 fours, five sixes) and the allrounder Jeevan Mendis (29, 19 balls) combined for a stand of 104 runs in a mere 45 balls.

Dilshan's was exactly the kind of opening statement a captain desires to make, providing plenty of evidence that the Australians will be up against a feisty opponent across the tour. They will also need to sharpen their fielding, as fumbles were a recurring theme of the team's first international since a limited overs series in Bangladesh in April.

Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings and Shane Watson were all taken for more than 11 runs per over, while curiously the spin of Steve O'Keefe and Steve Smith was not fully utilised despite offering a greater level of economy than any of the faster men.

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Brett Lee shared the new ball with the left-arm spinner O'Keefe in a nod to a surface that offered some bounce but also turn. Mahela Jayawardene managed a pair of crisp boundaries to long-on and backward point, but in the third over squirted a Lee yorker into his stumps.

Dilshan immediately took the attack to Lee, following a top-edged hook for six with an artful glide through gully for four, meaning the over reaped 14 runs as well as a wicket. He then sought to unsettle Johnson with a series of impudent gestures. Dinesh Chandimal also made a bright start, but on 11 was hurried onto the back foot by Johnson's pace and slid ungracefully into his wicket - only the fifth such dismissal in T20 internationals, its rarity underlined by the bowler's miffed reaction.

Now Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara set about building a partnership of substance as the hosts reached 76-2 at the 10-over mark. Sangakkara played with his usual calm, uncoiling for the occasional boundary off the spinners, while Dilshan resorted to more outlandish methods, including one expert rendition of the "Dilscoop", to keep the rate ticking.

Tensions were evident between Dilshan and Shane Watson, the Australian firing a return throw towards the batsman, who fended it away with a glove. A curious appeal by the Australians posed the question about obstruction, as the game's laws have been changed to disallow any by a batsman out of his crease, but the umpires waved it away.

Sri Lanka vs Australia,1st T20 Match – Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy – Video Highlights.