Ponting hit a six and eight boundaries to help his team chase down a victory target of 209 runs and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series at Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota. He was named player of the match. Clarke made 58 not out and Shane Watson scored 43. [break]
Ponting, who led Australia to two World Cup titles and stepped down as captain after his team´s early exit in this year´s World Cup, said he enjoyed his new role as the team´s No. 3 batsman.
"I thought long and hard about the decision I made, obviously. Once I came to the conclusion that I wasn´t the captain of the side anymore it was up to me to be the best batsman I could be for the side for another pair of years.
"The No.3 batsman in the side has a big responsibility, that is for me to score runs more often than not. So far things have started well," said Ponting, who scored 53 runs in the first match.
Clarke refused to get carried away by Australia´s 2-0 lead, saying: "We are off to a good start in this series but we know it´s a long way to go."
Earlier, left-arm seamer Doug Bollinger picked up three wickets to help restrict Sri Lanka to a modest 208 all out in the final over.
Australia suffered an early setback in its chase, losing opener Brad Haddin with the total on 10. Wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, standing close to the stumps to seamer Nuwan Kulasekara, held a sharp catch to dismiss him for seven runs.
Watson and Ponting shared 94 runs for the second wicket before Watson was bowled by paceman Lasith Malinga for 43 runs. He hit a six and four boundaries.
Clarke hit two sixes and four boundaries in his 67-ball innings.
Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan blamed his batsmen for both one-day defeats.
"The score that we made with seven batsmen is unacceptable. If we had scored 250 or 260 we could have been much more threatening to the Australian batsmen," he said.
"Our batsmen must take the responsibility from now on to win matches for us,"
Sri Lanka made just 191 runs in the first match, losing the match by seven wickets.
Sri Lanka had made a solid enough start Sunday after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Openers Upul Tharanga and Dilshan shared 37 runs for the first wicket before pace bowler Brett Lee broke through, bowling Dilshan for 24 runs with an elegant inswinger.
Mitchell Johnson, who returned a career-best six wickets in the first ODI and was named player of the match, then had Tharanga caught behind by wicketkeeper Haddin for 13 runs with just four more runs added to the total.
Tharanga lowered the bat trying to leave a rising delivery but the ball brushed his glove before being caught by Haddin.
Mahela Jayawardene made 17 before sweeping left-arm spinner Xavier Dohery for a catch to Mike Hussey at deep mid-wicket. Bollinger forced an edge off Dinesh Chandimal to Haddin for his first wicket to leave the hosts in trouble at 77-4.
Bollinger also took the wickets of Anjelo Mathews and Malinga to finish with 3-35, while Johnson and Lee picked up two wickets each.
Sangakkara and Anjelo Mathews steadied the innings with a 63-run partnership. Sangakkara hit a six and a boundary for his 52 runs off 85 balls before hitting a full toss from off spinner David Hussey to Johnson at long-on. His dismissal exposed the tail and the host team lost the remaining five wickets for 68 runs.
Mathews made 35 and tailender Kulasekara added 34.
The third match of the series will be played on Tuesday at the same venue.
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