Minnows steamrolled in World Cup

Mahela Jayawardene scored the fastest century by a Sri Lankan in the World Cup with 81 balls.

HAMBANTOTA: Veteran batsman Mahela Jayawardene smashed a sparkling century as Sri Lanka crushed Canada by 210 runs in their opening World Cup match.

The 33-year-old scored his ton off 80 balls for his 13th One-Day International (ODI) hundred, and the fourth fastest in World Cup history, which boosted his team’s total to 332 for seven. New-ball bowlers Nuwan Kulasekara (three for 16) and Thisara Prerea (three for 24) combined to bundle Canada out for just 122 in 36.5 overs.

Sri Lanka too tough for Canada

Canada, who promised much by putting up a valiant fight against England during their 16-run defeat in a warm-up last week, found the co-hosts too tough to handle in the Group A clash.

“The real star was Jaya-wardene,” said Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara.

“Once we got the foundation and that solidity, we were able to launch and go beyond 300.” Canada captain Asish Bagai admitted chasing such a huge target was always going to be a tough proposition.

“Two world-class players took the game away from us and 330 was always going to be a tough task,” said Bagai.

A strong partnership

Earlier, Jayawardene had laid the foundation for Sri Lanka’s total with an invaluable third wicket partnership of 179 with Sangakkara, who made 92. Jayawardene and Sangakkara built on the platform set by opener Tillakaratne Dilshan (50) after Sri Lanka won the toss at this new ground which became the 177th one-day venue.

Sri Lanka now face Pakistan in their second match on February 26. Pakistan will play Kenya here on Wednesday. AFP

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2011.