SL powered by big opening stand

Mar 10, 2011

Tillakaratne Dilshan cut loose early, stroking several boundaries during the first Powerplay•AFP

Dilshan got to his hundred off 95 balls•AFP

Brendan Taylor got Zimbabwe off to a brisk start, playing some unorthodox shots•Associated Press

Angelo Mathews took the key wickets of Tatenda Taibu and Taylor to leave Zimbabwe in trouble•Associated Press

... but then dropped a low one on the hat-trick ball •AFP

He and Upul Tharanga started off building what was to become the highest opening partnership in World Cups •AFP

By the time Tharanga reached his own century, the partnership had reached 233•AFP

Sri Lanka were poor in the field, and Malinga dropped Taylor on the boundary•AFP

Dilshan then got into the act, dismissing Craig Ervine for the first of four wickets•Associated Press

Fittingly, Murali took the final wicket in what was his last international match in front of his home crowd, and Sri Lanka ran out winners by 139 runs•AFP

The first wicket fell in the 45th over, after a 282-run stand, and Chris Mpofu went on to take four wickets, but Sri Lanka reached 327 •AFP

The opening partnership reached 116, before Muttiah Muralitharan struck, bowling Regis Chakabva with a doosra•AFP

Mahela Jayawardene took a diving catch at slip to dismiss Greg Lamb and give Dilshan two wickets in two balls ... •AFP