Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took four wickets in Colombo on Wednesday but could stop Australia grabbing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Twenty20 series. Hasaranga took 4-33 in his four overs of wily leg-spin after Sri Lankan batters had once again failed to fire. The hosts only managed 124-9 after visitors won the toss and chose to field in the second T20. It was their second ordinary batting performance in the series after they were out for 128 on Tuesday. Australia then scored 126-7 in 17.5 overs for a tricky three wicket victory.
Openers Aaron Finch, with a 13-ball 24, and David Warner, 10-ball 21, gave Australia momentum toward what looked like an easy target.
But Finch and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh fell within 20 runs of each other to Hasaranga's spin.
The Australian batters struggled against some tight lines by Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera, who took one wicket for 31 runs in his four overs.
The visitors kept losing wickets through the middle to keep hosts interested.
Steve Smith (5) and Marcus Stoinis (9) had brief stays and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who too fell to Hasaranga, played a 19-run cameo as Australia slid to 99 for seven.
Matthew Wade, who made 26 off 26 balls, and Jhye Richardson, who scored nine off 20, took Australia across the finish line with an unbroken stand of 27.
"There was a bit going, and we know Sri Lanka are a difficult team to face at home," Wade said after his player-of-the-match performance.
"We just knew we needed to get through their two main spinners and tick off the runs. It certainly helped that guys got off to a flyer at the start, so the run rate wasn't really an issue," he added.
Earlier, Maxwell opened the bowling for Australia with his off-spin and
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