Sri Lanka cruise past Kiwis

SRI LANKA coasted to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand to move level on points with their opponents at the top of the World Cup Super Eight table.

The Kiwis, who began their fourth second-stage match with one of only two 100% records, failed to post a par total despite Scott Styris’ fourth ODI hundred.

His personal haul was a 152-ball century, brought up with his seventh boundary after Stephen Fleming had chosen to bat first on a good surface.

Sri Lanka then sauntered past 219 for seven with almost five overs to spare atQueen’s Park, to put themselves alongside New Zealand and Australia in the front rank of the race for a semi-final place.

Even with Styris’ unbeaten 111, the Kiwis fell well short of expectations — undermined by three top-order wickets for Chaminda Vaas and three more for Muttiah Muralitharan.

A 65-ball half-century from Sanath Jayasuriya (64) in a 100-run second-wicket stand with Kumar Sangakkara (69 not out) then set Sri Lanka on their way — although the tempo of the victory was short of the net run rate required to go above table-toppers Australia.

New Zealand did not help themselves by putting down a series of half-chances when the ball was still new enough to cash in on early inroads.

Jayasuriya clipped a delivery from Mark Gillespie through Stephen Fleming’s outstretched left hand at midwicket when he had made 30, and Sangakkara had a let-off on nine thanks to Craig McMillan at mid-on from the bowling of Shane Bond.

Sri Lanka lost opener Upul Tharanga to a fine catch by Bond from an upper cut off James Franklin to deep third-man, the fielder backtracking after initially coming in a little too far off the rope.

But Jayasuriya and Sangakkara were largely untroubled until the former under-edged a cut behind to Brendon McCullum, standing up to Jacob Oram’s medium-pace.

Mahela Jayawardene was annoyed when he pulled Daniel Vettori tamely to midwicket to give the slow left-armer his 200th wicket at this level, and Chamara Silva donated another by giving Bond some catching practice at long-off.

But Sangakkara closed out the match with a half-century which took 86 balls and contained just one four.