SL melt in Siddle & Starc heat

Pacemen Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc bowled Australia to victory over Sri Lanka in the first Hobart Test on Tuesday, claiming six wickets in the final session for a thrilling win.

The Sri Lankans had looked to be holding on for a draw until Siddle and Starc struck to secure Australia's first win of the home season, after losing to South Africa 1-0 in the recent three-Test series.

Starc claimed the last four wickets to end with five for 63, while Siddle was named man of the match after his four for 50 gave him nine wickets for the match.

Australia found it hard going to gouge out the batsmen on a fifth-day pitch until the wickets tumbled in the final two hours.

"We knew we had to be patient," said captain Michael Clarke. "No doubt I was confident that if we could bowl the balls in the right area for a long period of time that we would have success.

"It was going to be a day's work to get so many good batsmen out, but take nothing away from the bowlers.

"They had to execute their plans and their skills. Reverse swing was always going to be vital in this game and we've got three of the best reverse swing bowlers in the world in Sids (Siddle), Shane (Watson) and Starcy (Starc)."

Australia got the wicket of captain Mahela Jayawardene before lunch, Kumar Sangakkara in the middle session and the remaining six wickets in the final session after the tourists had appeared headed for a morale-boosting draw.

"Disappointed that we lost the game. It was a tough Test match in the sense that we were chasing the game probably after the third or fourth day but we kept fighting, especially in the first innings," Jayawardene said.

"Today we knew we had to bat through a couple of sessions sensibly, see what happens, and up until tea we were on target. And then two wickets after tea and that's when things probably went in the other direction."

Siddle struck in the fourth over after tea when Angelo Mathews needlessly flicked outside his off stump and nicked to Matthew Wade for 19, giving the Australians a glimmer of victory.

Siddle gave the Australians more hope when he trapped Samaraweera leg before wicket for 49 off 140 balls.

A few overs later Prasanna Jayawardene, who has scored four Test centuries, could not avoid a spitting delivery from Starc and gloved to Mike Hussey at second slip for 21.

Starc bowled a beautiful delivery to entice an edge off Nuwan Kulasekara who was caught behind for nine heading into the final 15 overs.

The irresistible left-armer bowled Rangana Herath for eight, leaving the Australians just one wicket from victory.

Starc finished up the innings when he had Shaminda Eranga caught behind for six to end Sri Lanka's dogged resistance.

The Australians had earlier removed key batsmen Mahela Jayawardene (19) and Sangakkara (63) but for a time were hitting a brick wall in their attempts to make further inroads.

At one stage Clarke even brought wicketkeeper Matthew Wade into the attack, with his lively medium pace utilised for a maiden final over before the tea adjournment.

The big-hearted Siddle made the crucial breakthrough in the middle session, trapping Sangakkara leg before wicket for 63 off 226 balls in the 76th over.

Australia removed Mahela Jayawardene midway through the morning session after Clarke, playing with an injured hamstring, bent low to take a sharp catch off Siddle in the 56th over.

Jayawardene had resisted for 77 balls for his 19 and stubbornly put on 65 runs for the third wicket with Sangakkara off 193 balls.

Sri Lanka have yet to win in Australia in 11 Tests.

The series now goes to Melbourne for the second Test starting on Boxing Day ahead of the final Sydney Test on January 3.

Dilshan ton keeps SL afloat

Tillakaratne Dilshan led a fighting counter-attack with a gutsy century as Sri Lanka trailed Australia by 141 runs with two days to play in the first Hobart Test on Sunday.

Dilshan batted for almost seven hours for his 147 and shared in a record Sri Lanka stand in Australia with Angelo Mathews to get the tourists within 114 runs of the home side's first innings of 450 for five declared.

The Australians tightened their grip on the match reaching third day stumps at 27 without loss and were in the box seat to press on for their first victory of the domestic summer after losing the recent three-Test series to South Africa.

At the close, Ed Cowan was on 16 with David Warner not out on eight.

Sri Lanka, boosted by Dilshan's 15th Test century and good play from Mathews (75) and Prasanna Jayawardene (40), were bowled out for 336.

Peter Siddle, leading the Australian attack in the absence of injured Ben Hilfenhaus, knocked over the Sri Lankan tail to finish with five for 54 off 25.3 overs.

"It's about pressing forward tomorrow, obviously it's going to be hard to start tomorrow morning for the batters, but they'll dig in and we've just got to play it from there and see how we go and see what target we can go with," Siddle said.

Dilshan's innings-saving effort came to an end when he was yorked by Mitchell Starc in the 98th over some 30 minutes after tea.

The 36-year-old right-hander hit 21 boundaries off 273 balls and was primarily responsible for getting Sri Lanka past the 251 follow on after the tourists were in strife at 87 for four at stumps on Saturday.

It was Dilshan's second century against Australia following his 104 at Galle in 2004.

He shared in a record 161-run stand with Mathews for the fifth wicket that took the momentum away from the Australians for a large part of the third day.

It eclipsed Aravinda de Silva and Ravi Ratnayeke's previous best stand for Sri Lanka down under of 144 for the seventh wicket at Brisbane in 1989.

Siddle triggered a late wicket collapse, trapping Prasanna Jayawardene and Rangana Herath (0) both leg before wicket, before Nuwan Kulasekara was caught in the deep by substitute Jordan Silk off Nathan Lyon for 23.

Siddle mopped up the innings with the wicket of Chanaka Welegedara for a duck, snapped up at gully by Mike Hussey leaving the Australians 14 overs to negotiate to stumps.

Australia, down a bowler with Hilfenhaus off the field with a side strain, toiled hard for most of Sunday, with only Mathews's wicket to show for their efforts up to tea.

Vice-captain Mathews, who is expected to take over as skipper after Mahela Jayawardene announced he would be stepping down as captain after the Australia tour, was another Siddle lbw victim.

Australia's wicketkeeper Matthew Wade was left red-faced by a botched stumping of Kulasekara on three when he dropped the ball after the fast bowler jumped down the wicket to spinner Nathan Lyon.

Swing bowler Hilfenhaus left the field in the opening hour after delivering just two balls of his 13th over. Team officials said he had a left side strain and was taken to hospital for scans.

He had figures of 1-30 after claiming the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne for 14 on Saturday.

Australia's fast bowling ranks have been hit hard with James Pattinson (side), Patrick Cummins (back) and Josh Hazlewood (foot) all out of action.

Pattinson was ruled out for the Test season after suffering his injury during the second Test against South Africa in Adelaide, while Cummins is aiming to recover from stress fractures to his back for next year's Ashes tour.

Australia claim four after Hussey ton

Four Sri Lankan wickets rewarded a Mike Hussey-induced declaration to have Australia in a powerful position after the second day of the first Hobart Test on Saturday.

Veteran Hussey's fifth century in six Tests against Sri Lanka enabled skipper Michael Clarke to call a halt to Australia's first innings at 450 for five off 131 overs, some 30 minutes before tea on a rain-interrupted day.

Clarke's call was backed by his bowlers who captured the wickets of Dimuth Karunaratne and the prized scalps of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera in the final session.

At the close, Sri Lanka were 87 for four with Tillakaratne Dilshan not out 50 with Samaraweera out in the day's final over.

Dilshan reached his 50 off 82 balls when he hooked Shane Watson for four in the penultimate over of the day.

Evergreen Hussey continued to flourish this southern summer with an unbeaten 115 for his 19th Test century and third in the last month to share in a 146-run stand with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade (68).

In his six Tests against Sri Lanka, Hussey has scored five centuries at 109.62.

Hussey, batting better than ever at the age of 37, audaciously raised his hundred with a pull off Shaminda Eranga. Angelo Mathews looked set to take the catch on the mid-wicket boundary ropes but fumbled the chance, allowing the ball to bounce over for four to bring up Hussey's 100.

Hussey's knock came off 184 balls with eight fours and a six.

Wade, who had a life on 20 when he was dropped by fielding substitute Suraj Randiv at mid-wicket off Chanaka Welegedara nearing lunch, raised his second Test half-century.

Clarke was the only Australian wicket to fall out in the day's third over when he edged Eranga to Sangakkara low down at first slip. The Australian skipper's 74 off 145 balls took his tally to 1,432 runs this calendar year at 102.28 with a possibility of three more Test innings to come before year's end.

Clarke had been on track for his fifth century of 2012, three of them double-centuries, along with his Test highest score of 329 not out against India in Sydney last January.

Sri Lanka began boldly but rookie opener Karunaratne was out for 14 in the 10th over when he nibbled at Ben Hilfenhaus and was snapped up by Wade. The Australians struck two killer blows late in the day with the key wickets of Sangakkara and Jayawardene.

Sangakkara, who scored 192 in his previous Test innings at Hobart five years ago, went cheaply for four when he sliced Peter Siddle to Hussey's safe hands in the gully to leave the Sri Lankans at 42 for two. It got worse for the tourists when Watson trapped Jayawardene leg before wicket for 12 in the 23rd over.

Jayawardene, who is relinquishing the team captaincy after the Australian tour, referred the decision to the TV umpire, who upheld the umpire's verdict.

Samaraweera was out in the final over when he was surprised by spinner Nathan Lyon's extra bounce and was caught behind for seven. The signs were not looking good for Sri Lanka, who were chasing their first Test win in Australia at 11 attempts.

Play was extended after a total of 130 minutes were lost to rain in two delays during the day.

Australia claim four after Hussey ton

Four Sri Lankan wickets rewarded a Mike Hussey-induced declaration to have Australia in a powerful position after the second day of the first Hobart Test on Saturday.

Veteran Hussey's fifth century in six Tests against Sri Lanka enabled skipper Michael Clarke to call a halt to Australia's first innings at 450 for five off 131 overs, some 30 minutes before tea on a rain-interrupted day.

Clarke's call was backed by his bowlers who captured the wickets of Dimuth Karunaratne and the prized scalps of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera in the final session.

At the close, Sri Lanka were 87 for four with Tillakaratne Dilshan not out 50 with Samaraweera out in the day's final over.

Dilshan reached his 50 off 82 balls when he hooked Shane Watson for four in the penultimate over of the day.

Evergreen Hussey continued to flourish this southern summer with an unbeaten 115 for his 19th Test century and third in the last month to share in a 146-run stand with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade (68).

In his six Tests against Sri Lanka, Hussey has scored five centuries at 109.62.

Hussey, batting better than ever at the age of 37, audaciously raised his hundred with a pull off Shaminda Eranga. Angelo Mathews looked set to take the catch on the mid-wicket boundary ropes but fumbled the chance, allowing the ball to bounce over for four to bring up Hussey's 100.

Hussey's knock came off 184 balls with eight fours and a six.

Wade, who had a life on 20 when he was dropped by fielding substitute Suraj Randiv at mid-wicket off Chanaka Welegedara nearing lunch, raised his second Test half-century.

Clarke was the only Australian wicket to fall out in the day's third over when he edged Eranga to Sangakkara low down at first slip. The Australian skipper's 74 off 145 balls took his tally to 1,432 runs this calendar year at 102.28 with a possibility of three more Test innings to come before year's end.

Clarke had been on track for his fifth century of 2012, three of them double-centuries, along with his Test highest score of 329 not out against India in Sydney last January.

Sri Lanka began boldly but rookie opener Karunaratne was out for 14 in the 10th over when he nibbled at Ben Hilfenhaus and was snapped up by Wade. The Australians struck two killer blows late in the day with the key wickets of Sangakkara and Jayawardene.

Sangakkara, who scored 192 in his previous Test innings at Hobart five years ago, went cheaply for four when he sliced Peter Siddle to Hussey's safe hands in the gully to leave the Sri Lankans at 42 for two. It got worse for the tourists when Watson trapped Jayawardene leg before wicket for 12 in the 23rd over.

Jayawardene, who is relinquishing the team captaincy after the Australian tour, referred the decision to the TV umpire, who upheld the umpire's verdict.

Samaraweera was out in the final over when he was surprised by spinner Nathan Lyon's extra bounce and was caught behind for seven. The signs were not looking good for Sri Lanka, who were chasing their first Test win in Australia at 11 attempts.

Play was extended after a total of 130 minutes were lost to rain in two delays during the day.

Kohli, Dhoni claw India back

Virat Kohli slammed a patient century while captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed it by just one run as the duo showed admirable tenacity under pressure to lead a remarkable Indian fightback which has restored the balance in the fourth and final cricket Test against England at Nagpur on Saturday.

Resuming at a precarious 87 for 4 in response to England's first innings total of 330, Kohli (103) and Dhoni (99) played with great discipline and curbed their natural strokeplay on a slow track as the hosts reached 297 for eight at close on the third day which was dominated by the home team.

R Ashwin was batting on seven when play was called off after Piyush Chawla's dismissal, with India still trailing by 33 runs.

The young Kohli, who has been woefully out of form in the series, notched his third Test century while Dhoni also silenced his detractors as the pair added 198 runs for the fifth wicket to bring India back into the game.

The Indians, who desperately need to win the match to level the four-match series 2-2, put up a good fightback through Dhoni and Kohli in a partnership which lasted for 84.3 overs. Both of them played their longest Test match knock in terms of balls faced.

It was an uncharacteristically subdued knock by Dhoni who consumed as many as 246 balls before being tragically run out for 99 much to the dismay of the vociferous crowd at the VCA stadium.

Dhoni has been under tremendous pressure after the back-to-back defeats in Mumbai and Kolkata and he showed great character to rise to the occasion with his resolute effort in difficult batting conditions to bail the team out of trouble.

With two days left in the game, India will seek to take a decent first innings lead and put pressure on England who need only a draw to record their first series triumph on Indian soil in 28 years.

Spinner Graeme Swann broke the marathon partnership when he trapped Kohli leg before while debutant Ravindra Jadeja (12) and Chawla (1) fell soon after to peg India back a little bit by the end of the day.

Kolhi faced 295 balls and his third Test ton in 14 games was laced with 11 fours, while Dhoni came up with a captain's rearguard knock that was inclusive of eight fours and a six and during which he faced 246 balls.

Kolhi completed his hundred with a square cut for four off Swann and then jumped up in joy to be applauded warmly by the crowd in excess of 20,000 before he was trapped leg before by the England off-spinner in the first over after the drinks break.

The departure of Kohli was followed soon by that of debutant Jadeja who was trapped leg before by James Anderson, the wrecker-in-chief on Friday with a three-wicket haul, with a ball that jagged back sharply into the left hander when the floodlights were on.Dhoni, 98 at the fall of Jadeja's wicket, lost his wicket in his eagerness to get to his sixth Test ton. He drove Anderson to mid off but just failed to beat counterpart Alastair Cook's accurate throw to the non-striker's end.

India lost next batsman Piyush Chawla too, Swann clean bowling the batsman for his third wicket to bring down curtains to a dramatic last hour's play in which India surrendered the initiative to the visitors to some extent.

At close, Ashwin was on 7 after a stay of 29 minutes but with only Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha to come, the home side may not be able to take the lead.

Hobart Test from today

Rookie Dimuth Karunaratne was picked to open the Sri Lankan batting with veteran Tillakaratne Dilshan in the first Test against Australia in Hobart on Friday.

The 24-year-old will be making only his second Test appearance on an expected lively Bellerive Oval wicket in the first of three Tests.

Nuwan Kulasekara, Shaminda Eranga and Chanaka Welegedara will lead the pace attack supported by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and the swing bowling of Angelo Mathews in a team announced Thursday.

Former Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg has rubbished the Sri Lankan quicks as the "worst ever" to come to Australia, with Kulasekara, Eranga and Welegedara only having 38 Tests and 99 wickets between them.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene said injuries and retirements had forced Sri Lanka to overhaul their new-ball attack, but he was confident his pace brigade could do the job against the third-ranked Australians.

"Teams have to start somewhere. I think we've lost some fast bowlers in the past and some with injuries and this is an attack that is probably different," Jayawardene said.

"We don't probably have the pace that you [Australia] think is required to win Test matches in Australia, but we've got guys who will bowl good line and length and create opportunities and if we keep to that I think we stand a good chance."

Meanwhile, paceman Mitchell Johnson has been left out of the Australian team with Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle returning to bolster the side.

The 31-year-old left-armer, who has 196 wickets in 48 Tests, missed out despite taking six wickets against South Africa in Perth last week.

Australia go into the series opener with a three-prong pace attack of Hilfenhaus, Siddle and left-armer Mitchell Starc, became 16 for two when in-form Cook got a dubious decision from umpire Kumar Dharmasena

Honours even on Day 1

india bowlers let England off the hook and allowed the visitors to recover from a difficult position as they reached 199 for five at stumps on the opening day to leave the crucial fourth and final cricket Test evenly poised here on Thursday.

The home team had England in a real spot at 139 for five soon after tea but failed to seize the initiative as debutant Joe Root and the experienced Matt Prior batted for nearly 30 overs to add 60 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket stand.

The new-look Indian bowling attack had kept the high-flying England batsmen under tight leash and made them struggle for every run in the first two sessions before Prior, batting on 34, and Root, undefeated on 31, added valuable runs in the final hour.

Kevin Pietersen was the top-scorer for England with an innings of 73 while debutant Ravindra Jadeja got two wickets for 34 runs having bowled 25 overs.

England captain Alastair Cook won the toss for the first time and the visitors were rocked back by twin strikes within the first hour by Ishant Sharma, but recovered briefly to get past the 100-run mark.

However, they got bogged down by the loss of three more wickets -- two of which were claimed by 24-year-old debutant Jadeja and the other by comeback man Piyush Chawla, before staging their second recovery of the day through Root and Prior.

The sixth wicket pair, whose unfinished partnership has lasted five minutes under two hours, came together when Pietersen was dismissed by Jadeja trying to play towards mid-wicket as Pragyan Ojha took a low catch diving forward.

By close of play on the first day, the sixth wicket pair had ensured England ended the day on even keel. England scored 61, 72 and 66 runs in the three sessions. In the morning, Sharma packed off England's leading run-getter Cook and his opening parner Nick Compton cheaply to leave them gasping at 16 for 2 before Pietersen along with Jonathan Trott staged a recovery.

Compton nicked a slow rising delivery from Ishant to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps as England were reduced to three for one. It soon supplemented by Shane Watson's swing and spinner Nathan Lyon.

Recalled Phil Hughes will bat at number three with Watson at four while skipper Michael Clarke

and veteran Mike Hussey stay at five and six in

the first Test match since the retirement of Ricky Ponting.

Sri Lanka have played 10 Tests in Australia but have never won.

"We'll bank on our experience with our batting. To win a Test match it's important to put runs on the board, we just need

to score runs and give

our bowlers a chance to get 20 wickets," Jayawardene said.

TEAMS
SRI LANKA: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath, Shaminda Eranga, Chanaka Welegedara.

AUSTRALIA: David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phil Hughes, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (captain), Mike Hussey, Matthew Wade, Peter Siddle, Mitchell

Starc, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nathan Lyon.