It was a match that almost lived up to the high billing it received. Sri Lanka batted first and got off to a brisk start, but then faltered from 24/0 in 4 overs to 27/3 in 9 overs. Until a partnership between captain Mahela Jayawardene (72) and Chamara Silva (64) of 140 took them to the relative safety of a big score. But then another collapse! Sri Lanka finally put up 226 in 49.3 overs but it was always about 30 runs short of par for the course. All the Aussie quick bowlers had their fun against a suspect Sri Lankan batting line-up.

For reasons beyond the comprehension of most viewers, Sri Lanka went into the game without Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, their two best bowlers. Whether they were trying to protect them from the Australians or just resting them, the decision was bizarre. It is one thing to let a couple of players who have not played in the tournament so far get a chance, but to do it against Australia and lose momentum that has been built up isn’t the smartest decision.

Australia doesn’t need a second invitation and they made sure that they did not let Sri Lanka get too many runs. 226 was below par for most pitches but even on a slightly slow pitch in Grenada, it proved too little. The brilliance of the Australian team lies in their self-confidence. They have few stars left compared to previous teams and even the non-star status players perform outstandingly. Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist are two of the stars and although they struggled, they ensured a good, steady start of 76 for the opening wicket. And when that was broken, Ponting and Michael Clarke put on almost 50. But the cake went to the fourth wicket unbeaten partnership of 106 between captain Ricky Ponting (66*) and Andrew Symonds (63*) that saw Australia through.