Symonds and Lee propel awesome Australia into final

Australia 212-7 Sri Lanka 123-7 Australia win by 48 runs (D/L Method)

For 53.5 Overs it looked as if it could be a contest to befit the semi-final of a World Cup. Sri Lanka's bowlers had restricted the free-scoring Australian batsmen to a modest total of 212 and their openers seemed comfortable against the pace and accuracy of Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath. The score was 21 for 0, the crowd were cheering every Sri Lankan run and it appeared Australia's relentless winning machine may have met its match.

Then Lee, sprinting down hill from the Duck Pond End here at St George's Park, struck with a 99.5mph delivery that shattered Marvan Atapattu's stumps. The loss of an early wicket should not signal the end of a game but the sight of their leading batsman making his way forlornly from the ground, having been comprehensively beaten for pace, would have done nothing for Sri Lankan morale. It was only 11 days ago that they were bullied by the same man in Centurion and the sight of a stump cart-wheeling out of the ground tends to bring back unwelcome memories.

From that moment there was only one winner as magnificent Australian bowling and out-cricket destroyed Sri Lanka before heavy rain brought an early end to proceedings. No team have yet been able to topple Ricky Ponting's side in this tournament – their winning streak now stands at 16 matches – and not even messrs Duckworth and Lewis, whose tables are used to work out the winner in a rain-affected game, came close yesterday as the World Cup favourites romped into the final with a 48-run victory.

Before Lee's incisive opening spell there were times when the defending champions looked in trouble after winning the toss and electing to bat on a slow, low pitch. But one of them was bound to perform, as tends to be the case with teams containing a number of quality players.

On this occasion it was Andrew Symonds who rose to the occasion with a match-winning innings of 91 not out. Australia were 51 for 3, and the game very much in the balance, when Symonds strode to the crease, batting at five in the absence of Damien Martyn with a fractured finger. Two early wickets had fallen to crafty slower balls from Chaminda Vaas after Aravinda de Silva, purveying his gentle off-spin, had removed Adam Gilchrist in the sixth over of the innings.

Gilchrist was in typically bullish mood – he hit the third ball of the second over from Pulasthi Gunaratne into the crowd over deep square leg for six – and few would have anticipated his method of dismissal. He swept at De Silva and the ball took the edge of his bat, bounced off the left-hander's right pad and flew in the air. The wicket-keeper, Kumar Sangakarra, ran round to take a simple catch. The ensuing appeal was greeted by a call of "not out" from the umpire, Rudi Koertzen.

Remarkably, however, Gilchrist walked. Leaving the wicket without waiting for the umpire's decision has never been a part of Australian cricket culture. It has often been said that the only time an Aussie walks is when he is going to the pub, and Gilchrist's captain, Ricky Ponting, was not impressed. He will not be encouraging any of his players to follow suit.

Australia are not Sri Lanka and, as Andy Bichel proved when playing a major role in winning Australia's previous two games here, the failure of batsmen at the top of the order is not something that concerns those lower down; they simply see it as an opportunity to shine.

Unlike his 143 against Pakistan earlier in the tournament, Symonds' innings was not a typical display by the powerful right-hander. Symonds, who was born in Birmingham but turned down the chance of playing for England, tempered his natural game for the sake of his side.

After surviving a stumping chance on 33, the 27-year-old milked Sri Lanka's array of spinners for ones and twos rather than looking for boundaries and showed there is touch to his repertoire as well as brutality. The former Gloucestershire and Kent player received good support from an equally patient Darren Lehmann and they turned round Australia's innings with a 93-run partnership. Only at the end of Australia's innings did Symonds open his shoulders, flicking a six off De Silva.

The importance of the first 15 overs to Sri Lanka was stressed before the game by Dav Whatmore, their Australian coach, but again his diminutive batsmen were unable to cope with the hostility of Lee. After losing Atapattu to Lee, Sanath Jayasuriya, Hashan Tillekaratne and Avishka Gunawardene were each out to soft strokes against a fired-up fielding side.

Even though Sri Lanka played eight batsmen, any chance of a revival disappeared when De Silva was brilliantly run out. It was not the way that De Silva, playing his last game for Sri Lanka, would have envisaged leaving a game he has illuminated superbly. There is little room for sentiment in sport – ask Allan Donald and Jonty Rhodes – and he had to depart when television replays showed him to be a yard short as an athletic piece of fielding from Bichel beat his despairing lunge for the crease.

Although his side was trounced, Whatmore does not believe Australia are unbeatable. "To beat Australia you need to be confident," he said. "Somewhere along the line someone has to play against them with the same level of confidence. You need a sufficient degree of skill obviously but if you can do this you can win." Here lies the challenge for India or Kenya.

Australia v Sri Lanka

St George's Park; Australia won toss

AUSTRALIA
A C Gilchrist c Sangakkara b De Silva 22
M L Hayden c Tillakaratne b Vaas 20
R T Ponting c Jayasuriya b Vaas 2
D S Lehmann b Jayasuriya 36
A Symonds not out 91
M G Bevan c Sangakkara b Jayasuriya 0
G B Hogg st Sangakkara b De Silva 8
I J Harvey c Sangakkara b Vaas 7
A J Bichel not out 19
Extras (lb3 w3 nb1) 7
Total (for 7, 50 overs) 212
Fall: 1-34, 2-37, 3-51, 4-144, 5-144, 6-158, 7-175.

Did not bat: B Lee, G D McGrath.

Bowling: Vaas 10-1-34-3 (nb1, w1); Gunaratne 8-0-60-0 (w1); De Silva 10-0-36-2 (w1); Muralitharan 10-0-29-0; Jayasuriya 10-0-42-2; Arnold 2-0-8-0.

SRI LANKA
M S Atapattu b Lee 14
S T Jayasuriya c Symonds b McGrath 17
H P Tillakaratne c Gilchrist b Lee 3
D A Gunawardene c Ponting b Lee 1
P A de Silva run out 11
K C Sangakkara not out 39
D P M Jayawardene c Gilchrist b Hogg 5
R P Arnold c Lee b Hogg 3
W P U Vaas not out 21
Extras (b4 lb1 w2 nb2 pens 0) 9
Total (for 7, 38.1 overs) 123

Fall: 1-21 2-37 3-37 4-43 5-51 6-60 7-76

Did not bat: M Muralitharan, P W Gunaratne.

Bowling: McGrath 7-1-20-1; Lee 8-0-35-3 (nb2, w2); Bichel 10-4-18-0; Hogg 10-1-30-2; Harvey 2.1-0-11-0; Lehmann 1-0-4-0.

Umpires: R E Koertzen (SA) and D R Shepherd (Eng).

AUSTRALIA WIN BY 48 RUNS (DUCKWORTH/LEWIS METHOD)