Morkel heroics guide South Africa home

Albie Morkel hits a match-winning 40 off just 18 balls as South Africa beat Australia in a thrilling finish to the first of five one-day internationals in Melbourne.

Albie Morkel hit a match-winning 40 off just 18 balls as South Africa (272-7) beat Australia (271-8) in a thrilling finish to the first of five one-day internationals in Melbourne. The hosts set up a stiff ask with Shaun Marsh and David Hussey scoring fifties, and the tourists appeared to have blown their chances with the loss of four wickets for eight runs. But Morkel joined his captain Johan Botha (12 not out) and the pair scored 51 in the last five overs to pull off a shock win.

In Mirpur, Bangladesh, the off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan enjoyed the rare chance to win a match for Sri Lanka with the bat in a tense finish to the Tri-Nations final against the hosts. Muralitharan, who has an ODI batting average of just over six, crashed four fours and two sixes to steer the tourists to their target of 153 in a match where the specialist batsmen found scoring runs hard.

His 16-ball 33 not out, combined with a more measured 38no from Farveez Maharoof, saw Sri Lanka to a two-wicket victory. Mumbai have won the Ranji Trophy title for the 38th time after securing a 243-run victory over Uttar Pradesh on day five of the final at Hyderabad. The fast bowler Dhawal Kulkarni (5-76) and the off-spinner Ramesh Powar (3-75) bowled UP - chasing an improbable 525 to win - out for just 281.

* Agencies