The Aussie vice-captain was named man of the match for his blistering 83, but it was his dismissal — caught at long-off when on top of the bowling — that allowed the Lankans to work their way back into the contest.

"I feel like a bit of a goose, actually. I gave a pretty good lesson on how to throw a game away, because that (MCG) wicket has nagged batsmen all summer. In any form of the game that's been played here, batsmen haven't dominated at all. I had the game by the scruff of the neck, so that's pretty disappointing," Gilchrist observed.

"It's a nice reminder, even at the end of your career, that you've still got to respect the game and respect the position that you're in. It was a disappointing end."

Excitement

Asked if he had got caught up in the excitement of how well he was playing in his last match at the MCG, the soon-to-retire 36-year-old replied, "Maybe I got engulfed in it a little bit. But that's still the way I've played my career. A bit clearer thinking once Hopesy (all-rounder James Hopes) got out would have been better. We've always tried to pride ourselves on being more alert to try and consolidate a little partnership with the new player when we lose a player. I fell in the next over, so I just needed to be a bit sharper there."

Skipper Ricky Ponting said he wasn't too fussed by the defeat. "There's not a great deal of positives to take out of a loss but a loss at this time of the series for us won't be the worst result either," he said. "We've known for a while we're playing India in the finals, most of us were looking ahead to Sunday's game. Hopefully, this loss will sharpen us all up for Sunday."

Australia have batted first in most games in this competition. Was chasing a bit of a concern, considering they were also 51 for three against India in the first match of the tri-series in Gabba?

"It would have been good tonight if we had been able to get across the line in a run-chase situation," admitted Ponting.

"But I'm not that concerned because a lot of our guys have played a lot of cricket and know what it takes to chase scores. Over the years, I think we've probably been as good as anyone at chasing big totals,” Ponting added.