Australia's Ashes summer began with a FIFTH successive defeat against Sri Lanka in Melbourne today.

A world-record ninth-wicket stand of 132 between all-rounder Angelo Mathews and paceman Lasith Malinga earned Sri Lanka a famous victory in the first one-day international against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Chasing Australia's 239 for eight under lights in cool, drizzly conditions, the tourists were hopelessly placed at 107 for eight in the 26th over.

But the nerveless Mathews, who is unable to bowl in this series because of injury, showed that he can bat with the best of them, smashing an unbeaten 77 from 84 deliveries with no hint of panic and barely a false shot.

He received magnificent support from the unlikely Malinga, whose tempered 56 included two towering sixes off Xavier Doherty and John Hastings.

Malinga did not quite make it to the finish, running himself out when the scores were level.

The honour of hitting the winning run went to Muttiah Muralitharan with more than five overs to spare and one wicket in hand.

The result took the gloss off what was otherwise a dream ODI debut for left-arm spinner Doherty, who claimed four for 46 - including three wickets in his first two overs.

The 27-year-old also conjured a spectacular run out as the tourists lost four wickets for 13 - and all momentum - in the crucial middle stages of the contest.

That was before the unforgettable heroics of Mathews and Malinga.

Their stand was an all-time best for the ninth wicket in ODIs, surpassing the 126 achieved by Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup.

Shaun Marsh was unable to field for the Australians because of a back injury sustained earlier in the day while batting.

Attempting to pull a short one from Peter Siddle that came onto him quicker than expected, Tillakaratne Dilshan was the first of the tourists to fall for just seven in the fourth over.

Two overs on, Dilshan's opening partner Upul Tharanga (three) was on his way thanks to a flash of brilliance from Doherty in the field.

In one motion he dived full length to gather a drive from Kumar Sangakkara at mid-off and threw down the stumps at the bowler's end, where Tharanga had backed up too far.

At 19 for two the tourists were teetering, but Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene advanced the score safely to 73 when Doherty struck with his second delivery, trapping Jayawardene in front for 19.

Beaten in flight, Chamara Silva lofted the second ball of Doherty's second over to Watson at mid-on.

Then, with his next delivery, Doherty claimed the prized wicket of Sangakkara, bowled for 49 with one that hit the footmarks and turned square.

When Mitchell Johnson followed up by bowling Thisara Perera, Sri Lanka had slumped from 73 for two to 86 for six in the space of 4.1 overs.

A further two wickets fell with the score on 107 and still half the quota of overs to be bowled.

Enter Mathews and Malinga.

Earlier, Michael Hussey held Australia's innings together with an unbeaten 71 to defy exciting young paceman Perera, who claimed five for 46 from eight overs.

Captaining Australia in the absence of Ricky Ponting who was on compassionate leave to attend the funeral of his grandmother in Launceston, Michael Clarke won the toss and elected to bat.

The hosts were cruising at 85 for one when Perera removed Clarke for 27 in the 16th over of the innings, and Brad Haddin (49) and local hero Cameron White (nought) from successive deliveries in his next over.

The 21-year-old returned later to uproot Steve Smith with the second ball of his brief second spell and bowled John Hastings in the final over of the innings when the Australians were pushing hard for whatever runs they could muster.

In what was almost certainly his last appearance at the MCG, Muralitharan finished with nought for 36 from nine overs.

Every Australia batsman bar White and Doherty, who remained unbeaten on three, managed to get to double figures, but none genuinely prospered.

Malinga achieved the breakthrough for Sri Lanka with the score on 30 when Watson (10), attempting a flick through mid-wicket, spooned a simple catch to Silva in the seventh over.

Haddin combined with Clarke for a bright 55-run partnership that ended when the stand-in skipper thick-edged a catch from Perera through to Sangakkara.

Hussey, whose indifferent lead-up form has attracted intense scrutiny, was dropped twice and survived a missed stumping.

After advancing to Muralitharan, a stranded Hussey watched with relief as a fine edge deflected off Sangakkara's gloves low to slip where Mahela Jayawardene grassed a reflex opportunity.

That triple miss was forgotten, however, when Perera struck twice in the following over.

He had Haddin caught by a diving Dilshan at backward point before bowling the dangerous White from the next delivery with one that straightened after it hit the deck.

Hussey and Marsh kept the tourists at bay with a 67-run partnership that did not include a single boundary.

Marsh fell for 31, caught behind slashing at one that bounced a little more from Randiv in the off-spinner's seventh over.

Smith made 12, Johnson 10 and Hastings 16 as the hosts stuttered past 200, leaving it to Hussey hold the innings together.