Australia had no hope of winning the Twenty20 series over Sri Lanka heading into the third and final match in Adelaide, but they ended the campaign on a high.
The 41-run victory represents the first time that the Aussies have beaten Sri Lanka in a T20 clash on home turf in six attempts.
Openers Aaron Finch and Michael Klinger got the hosts off to a strong start by hitting a 79-run partnership before the former was dismissed by Seekkuge Prasanna for 53.
Klinger notched up 62 runs off 43 balls before getting run out, and even though the final four in the batting order mustered just six runs between them, Australia reached 187-6 after 20 overs.
In reply, Sri Lanka struggled to get a stranglehold of the game, with Dilshan Munaweera top-scoring on 37 off 25 deliveries, while captain Upul Tharanga could only hit 14 before he was stopped in his tracks.
Australia's bowlers impressed as James Faulkner and Adam Zampa took three wickets apiece to restrict the tourists to 146.
Despite the result, Sri Lanka have taken the series 2-1.
Danielle Joynson
