AFP: John Hastings claimed six wickets before Aaron Finch and George Bailey’s attacking half-centuries powered Australia to a series clinching six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the fourth one-day international in Dambulla on Wednesday.

Australia rode on Finch’s 19-ball 55 and an unbeaten 90 from Bailey to chase down 213 in 31 overs and take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Earlier Hastings career-best bowling figures of 6-45 helped bowl out Sri Lanka for 212 after electing to bat first despite Dhananjaya de Silva’s fighting 76.

It was Finch’s 19-ball 55 that gave Australia a rocket start against a Sri Lankan attack that missed skipper Angelo Mathews’ medium pace after the allrounder hurt his calf while batting.

Finch, who equalled the record for the fastest fifty by an Australian, struck eight fours and three sixes as he carted the Sri Lankan spinners to all parts of the ground.

Left-arm spinner Sachith Pathirana’s triple strike in the space of five deliveries checked the visitors’ surge but only for a brief while.

Pathirana got the wickets of danger man Finch and Usman Khawaja for nought in his opening over of the innings. He then bowled skipper David Warner for 19 on the first ball of his next over.

Bailey, who registered his 21st ODI fifty, carried the momentum forward as he anchored Australia’s chase with his 85-ball knock, laced with 11 fours and a six.

He got the perfect partner in Travis Head, who scored 40, as the duo put on 100 runs for the fourth wicket.

Head was trapped lbw off Dilruwan Perera but Matthew Wade, who remained unbeaten on eight, joined Bailey at the crease to hit the winning six.

The victory comes as a welcome relief for the visiting side after it suffered its first series whitewash against Sri Lanka in the three Test matches.

The fifth and final match of the ODI series is scheduled for September 4 in Pallekele.

Police fire teargas at cricket fans

AFP: Sri Lankan police fired teargas to disperse hundreds of fans trying to force their way into a stadium where the home team were playing their fourth one-day international against Australia Wednesday.

About 300 fans tried to force their way into the 18,000-capacity Dambulla stadium after the authorities announced that all tickets had been sold and asked anyone without tickets to leave the area, a police official said.

“We asked them to go, but they tried to break in while some blocked the main road by sitting down,” said a police official in Dambulla, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of Colombo.

“The situation was quickly brought under control,” added the official who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

There were also chaotic scenes during the third ODI at the same venue on Sunday when fans without tickets broke through barricades and entered the stadium en masse, dislodging thousands of ticket-holders from their seats.

Sri Lankans are cricket-crazy, but interest in the game has soared to new heights since Angelo Mathews and his team recorded a historic whitewash in their recent three-match Test series against Australia.

Aussie bouncer breaks Sri Lanka skipper’s helmet

AFP: Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews was badly shaken Wednesday after a bouncer smashed into his helmet during a match against Australia and broke a protective strap designed to safeguard the back of his skull.

Play was stopped for several minutes while Mathews recovered from the impact of the ball from fast bowler Scott Boland which evoked memories of the on-field death of the Australian batsman Phillip Hughes in 2014.

Mathews was struck after losing sight and then turning his back on a rising delivery from Boland which thudded into the base of the helmet, just above his neck.

The 29-year-old could be seen rubbing the back of his head vigorously and was given the once-over by Sri Lankan physio Paul Klarenaar.

The umpires called an early drinks break but Mathews then carried on with his innings before retiring hurt with an unrelated calf injury, having made 28 in the fourth one-day international being played in Dambulla.

The world of international cricket was stunned two years when Hughes died from bleeding on the brain after being hit on the base of the skull by a rising ball at the Sydney Cricket Ground during a domestic match.