Hambantota, Feb 20: Sri Lanka thumped Canada by a whopping margin of 210 runs to record their first victory of the 2011 ICC World Cup. The match which was a day/night affair was played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota.
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka opted to bat first. Their batsmen led by Mahela Jayawardene (100), Kumar Sangakkara (92) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (5) set up Sri Lanka’s imposing total of 332/7 in 50 overs. It was Jayawardene’s 13th ODI century of his career.
Canada, in reply, hardly challenged the hosts’ total. Their first four batsmen managed only 16 runs between them while the entire team folded for just 122 runs. For Sri Lanka Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera took three wickets each. Rizwan Cheema with 37 runs against his name was the top scorer for Canada.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 332/7 in 50 overs (Mahela Jayawardene 100, Kumar Sangakkara 92, John Davison 2/56) beat Canada 122 all out in 36.5 overs (Rizwan Cheema 37, Nuwan Kulasekara 3/16, Thisara Perera 3/24) by 210 runs
Man-of-the-Match:Mahela Jayawardene for his 81-ball 100 (9x4, 1x6).
