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Upul Tharanga’s rich vein of form continued as he hammered his second hundred in a row and his fourth in nine innings, to help Sri Lanka coast to a 144-run win against Zimbabwe and all but ensure a place in the main draw of the Champions Trophy.

Tharanga’s 110, and his 165-run third-wicket stand with Kumar Sangakkara, lifted Sri Lanka from an ordinary start to an imposing 285 for 7. Zimbabwe briefly looked in the mood for a fight when Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza were involved in a 63-run partnership for fourth wicket, but a heap of wickets on either side of the stand meant it was yet another dreary one-sided contest.

Both Tharanga and Sangakkara — who went past 5000 ODI runs during his innings — fell in successive overs after adding 165, the highest third-wicket partnership in Champions Trophy history.

Sri Lanka lost a couple of quick wickets thereafter, and though Marvan Atapattu batted with plenty of urgency at No.5, Sri Lanka managed only 65 in their last ten overs.

As it turned out, the total was more than sufficient. There was a brief threat — and signs of a challenge — during a 12-over period when Taylor and Masakadza went after the bowlers with aplomb, flaying fours through the off side against a listless Dilhara Fernando and Farveez Maharoof and forcing Jayawardene to cast furtive glances at the scorecard.

However, both bowlers hit back with wickets, and when Zimbabwe lost three in five balls to slump to 89 for 6, the match was as good as over.

Scoreboard

Sri Lanka won toss

Sri Lanka

W U Tharanga b Matsikenyeri 110

S T Jayasuriya run out (Chigumbura) 9

*D P M D Jayawardene c Taylor b Ireland 4

†Sangakkara c Matsikenyeri b Chibhabha 80

M S Atapattu not out 33

T M Dilshan c Kamungozi b Utseya 6

M F Maharoof lbw b Kamungozi 13

Muralitharan c Matsikenyeri b Kamungozi 10

S L Malinga not out 5

Extras (b3, w6, nb6) 15

Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 285

Did not bat: C R D Fernando, P D R L Perera

Fall: 1-38, 2-49, 3-214, 4-219, 5-235, 6-259, 7-273

Bowling: Ireland 10-0-53-1 (1nb, 1w); Mupariwa 6-0-31-0 (2nb, 1w); Chigumbura 4-0-24-0 (1w); Rinke 3-0-21-0; Chibhabha 5-1-25-1 (1nb); Utseya 10-0-58-1 (2nb, 1w); Kamungozi 10-0-55-2; Matsikenyeri 2-0-15-1 (1w)

Zimbabwe

T V Mufambisi c J’wardene b Malinga 5

H P Rinke b Perera 1

C J Chibhabha c Dilshan b Malinga 4

H Masakadza c S’kkara b Maharoof 30

†B R M Taylor b Fernando 30

S Matsikenyeri c Jayasuriya b Fernando 2

E Chigumbura run out 2

*P Utseya c J’wardene b M’tharan 20

T Mupariwa b Malinga 20

A J Ireland c S’kkara b M’tharan 0

T Kamungozi not out 0

Extras (lb1, w19, nb7) 27

Total (all out, 42.3 overs) 141

Fall: 1-7, 2-7, 3-23, 4-86, 5-86, 6-89, 7-107, 8-126, 9-134

Bowling: Malinga 9.3-0-25-3 (6w); Perera 6-1-27-1 (3w); Fernando 9-1-28-2 (5nb, 1w); Maharoof 4-0-37-1 (2nb, 2w); Muralitharan 10-2-20-2 (2w); Jayasuriya 4-2-3-0 (1w)

Result: Sri Lanka won by 144 runs

Points: Sri Lanka 2, Zimbabwe 0

Man of the Match: Upul Tharanga

Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Asad Rauf (Pakistan). TV umpire: R E Koertzen (South Africa). Match referee: J J Crowe (New Zealand)

ICC Champions Trophy Points Table

Teams P W L Pts NRR

Sri Lanka 2 2 - 4 +1.810

West Indies 1 1 - 2 +4.579

Bangladesh 1 - 1 0 -0.740

Zimbabwe 2 - 2 0 -3.569

Source:The News