Skipper Kumar Sangakkara led from the front with a brilliant maiden World Cup century as Sri Lanka scored 265 for nine in their concluding group A league encounter of the World Cup being played at the Wankhede Stadium.
The enthusiastic crowd of more than 25,000, who had come to watch a keen contest between two strong teams — New Zealand and Sri Lanka, returned disappointed as the match meandered into a one-sided affair.
Eventually, former champions inflicted a 112-run defeat on the Kiwis at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.
However, the crowd did get to watch an entertaining knock from Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara (111).
It was followed by Muttiah Muralitharan’s magical off-spinners, which fetched him four for 25. Both the players took their team to top of the Group A with nine points.
They will spend a day on top as the outcome of the Saturday’s match between Australia (9) and Pakistan (8) will determine the table-toppers from this group.
The 266-run target was going to be a tough task for New Zealand considering the kind of spin attack that the Sri Lankans have. None of the Kiwi batsmen appeared comfortable against Murali and Ajanta Mendis.
Stand-in skipper and middle-order batsman Ross Taylor was the only one who looked comfortable as he scored 33 off 55 balls with one six and three boundaries.
Seamers Nuwan Kulasekara and Angelo Mathews dismissed openers, while Murali and Mendis made the middle-order dance to their tunes on a turning track. Murali scalped the big-hitting Taylor, Kane Williamson, Scott Styris and James Franklin, while Mendis got the better of Jesse Ryder and Tim Southee.
Although, having already qualified for the quarterfinals, the Kiwis looked in a hurry to get back in to their air-conditioned dressing room leaving the spectators disappointed. They could manage only 153 from 35 overs.
Earlier, Sangakkara played a responsible knock to help Sri Lanka put up a challenging total of 265 for nine in 50 overs after they were off to a not-so-desirable start at 19/2, having won the toss.
Sangakkara’s 145-run partnership for the third wicket with vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene (66) laid the platform while Angelo Mathews’s (41 not out) power-hitting at the end saw them reach a fighting total.
After Sangakkara’s dismissal, Sri Lanka lost five wickets for just 55 runs.
It was Sangakkara’s maiden century in the World Cup and also his first since June 2008, after a dry run in 64 games at stretch. The conditions were quite favourable for the Lankans.
The hot and humid weather is something they are used to and the track was batsman-friendly but their openers, Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan, failed.
Nathan McCullum took a beautiful return catch of Jayawardene, when on 26. The bowler dived to his right in the 24th over and took a one-handed catch, just centimetres from the ground. But the third umpire was not convinced that it was a clean catch and this left the Kiwis disappointed. Jayawardene, in the process, completed his 56th half-century.
Scorecard of the match
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