Sri Lanka in emphatic win

Chris Dhambarage

CRICKET: Opener Upul Tharanga scored back to back centuries as Sri Lanka cruised to an emphatic 144 run victory over Zimbabwe in their International Cricket Council Mini World Cup third qualifying round match in Ahmedabad here on Tuesday.

The stylish left hand opening batsman continued his excellent run of form and hammered a splendid 110 from 130 balls with 13 fours and one six as Sri Lanka piled up a challenging 285 for 7 from theor 50 overs having elected to bat first.

In reply Zimbabwe put up a stubborn performance and occupied the crease for 43 overs before being dismissed for 141 runs. Paceman Lasith Malinga captured three wickets while Dilhara Fernando and Muttiah Muralitharan picked up two wickets each. Sri Lanka with this second win in the competition have virtually booked a place in the main Champions Trophy which begins on Sunday.

The man of the match Tharanga was under tremendous pressure at the beginning after seeing the dismissal of both Sanath Jayasuriya and skipper Mahela Jayawardena rather cheaply.

But he realized the situation well and played a more responsible innings as he built up a superb 165 run partnership with fellow left hander Kumar Sangakkara in even time. The pair certainly took the game away from Zimbabwe with some intelligent batting and good running between the wickets.

Both batsmen were prepared to use their feat against the spinners and found the gaps quite beautifully which laid the foundation for a match winning total. Tharanga who scored 105 in their win against Bangladesh on Saturday raced to his century off 120 balls and the sixth occasion he had passed the one hundred run mark.

Zimbabwe of course put up a much better performance on the field in contrast to their nine wicket defeat at the hands of the West Indies on Sunday. They had the satisfaction of getting rid of the two big guns in the Sri Lankan batting line up quite early following some accurate bowling and excellent fielding.

In the first match Zimbabwe's bowlers did not have a total to defend but this time they bowled with superb discipline while keeping it around off stump on a good length to trouble the batsmen. Sanath Jayasuriya's strangely subdued knock came to an end in a disappointing manner, when he walked at the non-strikers' end after Upul Tharanga had pushed to mid-off. The result was Jayasuriya well short of his crease following a direct throw from Elton Chigumbura.

This was followed by the dismissal of inform batsman and skipper Mahela Jayawardene who chased a wide delivery from Anthony Ireland and got a nick as Sri Lanka slumped to 51 for 2 after 11 overs. But Tharanga found a more reliable partner in Kumar Sangakkara, and the two got the innings back on track with a fantastic century partnership.

The lack of pace in the Zimbabwean attack certainly was a major concern to some of the Sri Lankan batsmen but Tharanga, who was in good touch resisted the temptation to play too early and went on to make another fine century.

Sangakkara made a well compiled 80 from 86 balls with seven hits to the ropes and also crossed the five thousand run mark in one day internationals. He later picked up his 150th victim behind the wickets during the Zimbabwe innings.

Marvan Atapattu batting at number six added some useful ruins to the Sri Lankan total during the last few overs and remained unbeaten on 33 from 30 balls with two fours. Sri Lanka made one change to their team while bringing in Ruchira Perera in place of Chaminda Vaas.

SRI LANKA INNINGS 
                                   
U. Tharanga b Matsikenyeri			110
S. Jayasuriya run out				09
M. Jayawardene c Taylor b Ireland 		4
K. Sangakkara c Matsikenyeri b Chibhabha	80
M. Atapattu not out				33
T. Dilshan c Kamungozi b Utseya 		06
F. Maharoof lbw b Kamungozi			13
M. Muralitharan c Matsikenyeri b Kamungozi	10
L. Malinga not out				05
Extras (b-3 nb-6 w-6)				15
TOTAL (for 7 wickets, 50 overs)			285
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-38 2-49 3-214 4-219 
5-235 6-259 7-273
Did not bat: R. Perera, D. Fernando                                    
Bowling 
A. Ireland 10-0-53-1(nb-1 w-1), T. Mupariwa 6-0-31-0(nb-2 w-1),
E. Chigumbura 4-0-24-0 (w-1), P. Rinke 3-0-21-0, 
C. Chibhabha 5-1-25-1 (nb-1), P. Utseya 10-0-58-1 (nb-2 w-1), 
T. Kamungozi 10-0-55-2, S. Matsikenyeri  2-0-15-1 (w-1),                

ZIMBABWE INNINGS                                    

T. Mufambisi c M. Jayawardene b Malinga		05
P. Rinke b Perera  				01
C. Chibhabha c Dilshan b Malinga		04
H. Masakadza c Sangakkara b Maharoof		30
B. Taylor b D. Fernando				30
S. Matsikenyeri c Jayasuriya b D. Fernando	02
E. Chigumbura run out  				02
P. Utseya c M. Jayawardene b Muralitharan	20
T. Mupariwa b Malinga				20
A. Ireland c Sangakkara b Muralitharan		00
T. Kamungozi not out				00
Extras (lb-1 nb-8 w-18)				27
TOTAL (all out, 42.3 overs)			141
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-7 2-7 3-23 4-86 5-86
6-89 7-107 8-126 9-134 10-141
Bowling L. Malinga 9.3-0-25-3 (w-6), R. Perera 6-1-27-1 (w-3),
D. Fernando   9-1-28-2 (nb-5 w-1), F. Maharoof 4-0-37-1(nb-2 w-2),
M. Muralitharan  10-2-20-2(nb-1 w-1), S. Jayasuriya 4-2-3-0(w-1). 
Ahmedabad, Tuesday