Top 5 performers from Sri Lanka vs Australia ODI series

After the first two matches of the ODI series with it being tied at 1-1, it looked as though this was going to an epic series that will live long into the memory all ODI fans with its close finishes and a throwback to almost a bygone era of ODIs where bowlers dominated.

Instead it became a series where Sri Lankan batsmen, barring Dinesh Chandimal, faltered with alarming regularity and the bowlers found it incredibly difficult to bail them out every time given the task they had at hand. So it was no surprise that Australia eventually won the series comfortably by a 4-1 margin.

So how many players from both sides make the list? Here are the top five performer from the Sri Lanka-Australia ODI series:

James Faulkner

After failing to capture the imagination in the tri-series against West Indies and South Africa following the IPL, all eyes were on James Faulkner to see if he could recapture the form that saw him establish himself as not just one of the best all-rounders in the limited-overs circuit but also one of the best death bowlers as well.

And the all-rounder didn’t disappoint as he not only took wickets when his side needed him to but also came out and closed the match when it looked like a wobble was possible right at the end of a tricky chase.

He finished the series with 10 wickets to his name and only Mitchell Starc with 12, had more wickets than him and his economy rate of 4.32 was simply sublime considering the regularity with which he was bowling at the death when batsmen were looking to clear the ground.

Mitchell Starc

After becoming the fastest bowler in the history of cricket to take 100 ODI wickets in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, Mitchell Starc was always going to have a tough time keeping the standards so high and so it proved to be.

But that doesn’t mean that he didn’t have a great series with the ball, in fact, he finished it as the leading wicket-taker with 12 wickets in five matches when only one other bowler had managed to get into double digits for the series. What was impressive about Starc’s bowling was his incredible consistency.

It is that same consistency that has helped him reach 100 ODI wickets so quickly and that was evident from the fact that he picked up at least one wicket in every match of the ODI series, which he eventually finished with an average of 18.1 and an economy rate of under 4.5.

Dinesh Chandimal

Until the final game of the series only one batsman had scored a hundred and that highlighted just how difficult batting was on pitches that were offering plenty of assistance to the bowlers. Yet one look at the batting scores of Dinesh Chandimal throughout the series and one might wonder what all the fuss was about.

The Sri Lankan batsman finished with 236 runs in the series (one of only two batsmen to score more than 200 in the series) at an average of nearly 60 with a fifty and a century to his name. Earlier in the series, he was even going for the world record of most consecutive fifties in ODIs.

Although he ended his run of consecutive fifties at 5, he started the series with scores of 80*, 48 and 102. While he didn’t do as well as he would have wanted in the last two games, he was undoubtedly Sri Lanka's best batsman.

George Bailey

If you needed any clues as to whether this series was dominated by the bat or ball, you only need to look at the tally of runs scored by the batsmen in the series. The fact that only two batsmen managed to score in excess of 200 runs in a five-match series highlights the fact that this series was all about the ball.

Unlike the ODI series that was taking place at the same time in the northern hemisphere between England and Pakistan, this was a firm contest and one that was won by ball far more than it was by the bat. All of that only makes George Bailey’s tally of 270 runs in five matches at an average of 67.50 all the more impressive.

Although his strike of rate of 75 might not seem like much, on pitches where totals of 250 seemed elusive, they are more than par for the course. As one of only three batsmen to score two fifties in the series and the only one to score over 250 runs, Bailey is firmly knocking on door of selection for the next time Australia visit Asia.

John Hastings

Coming in as a replacement for someone in the middle of a series is not easy but John Hastings made all of that seem like a ramblings of someone who doesn't know what they are talking about. Although he played just the final three matches of the series, ti was enough for him to not only register his career-best ODI figures but also finish as the third-leading wicket-taker in the series.

What was most impressive about the Duke and how he went about his bowling was the method that he used to succeed. Bowling predominantly in the middle overs in the death overs, Hastings used the variety that he possesses to great effect. Whether it was the slower ball, bouncer or the scrambled seam length ball, he confused the batsmen and kept them guessing throughout.

And that is precisely why he finished the series with nine wickets, despite only playing three matches. His career-best ODI figures of 6/45 came in the crucial fourth ODI and was the second-best figures by an Australian bowler in Asia.