Australia vs Sri Lanka (THE BIG ONE)

... and a dress rehersal for the final ? Almost surely, barring miraculous upsets.

And Sri Lanka seem to be in the woods a bit at 38/3 in the 12th over with Jayasuriya, Tharanga and Sangakarra back in the pavillion. But Jayawardene has just signalled his intent with a most gorgeous hook shot and I do believe this is not really a done and dusted affair yet.

The big news today - Sri Lanka have "rested" Vaas AND Muralitharan - for most people, at first glance, could look like a stupid move - one that if results in a loss might lead to a loss of momentum and brownie points, but IMO this is quite a well-crafted decision.

The idea is to tell the Aussies - let us see what you can do when three of our best are out. If you have a tough time beating us with this team, just wait for what we have got when we come to the finals. The key for this move to pay off is that the team needs to put off a challenge. Absolutely no harm in losing here - the key is they should be able to make Australia sweat. If they can do that and then have to endure defeat in this game, it might be well worth it in the bigger scheme of things.

10.38: Some super-hitting by Jayawardene ... his innings while they last are always masterful and classy ... the big question is how long will this last ??