Sri Lanka crush Canada by 210 runs

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HAMBANTOTA: Mahela Jayawardene scored the fastest World Cup century by a Sri Lankan while his captain Kumar Sangakkara missed a well deserved ton of his own as Sri Lanka crushed ICC Associate member Canada by 210 runs in match three of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup at the brand new Mahinda Rajapaksa cricket stadium in Hambantota, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, co-hosts of the World Cup along with India and Bangladesh, elected to bat and amassed 332 for 7 in fifty overs after winning the toss against cricketing minnows Canada in what is both teams' first match of the tournament..

Canada could muster only 122 in 36.5 overs in reply to the massive Lankan total. Only captain Ashish Bagai with 22 and Rizwan Cheema with 37 put up any meaningful resistance as Canada became the second low ranked team to fall on the day after Kenya's demolition at the hands of New Zealand earlier in the day at Chennai.

Canada were never in the chase after losing 3 wickets in the first three overs for 12 runs, especially big hitting opener John Davison for a golden duck.

Sri Lankan pace bowlers Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara took three wickets each as the visitors got mired in some excellent seam-up bowling.

It was Rizwan Cheema's defiant 37 off 35 balls with 2 sixes and 4 fours that took Canada over the 100 mark and saved some face. Cheema fell to veteran Muttiah Muralitharan after having hit both his sixes off the spin legend. Murali with two wickets, Ajanta Mendis with one and Samaraweera with 1 supplemented the seam bowlers.

The only other Canadian to make double figures was Harvir Baidwan, who remained not out on 16 off 35 balls.

Earlier, Canada had done well to keep the hosts' openers quiet and restricting them to 88 for 2 before the two Lankan stalwarts came together and put on 179 for the third wicket. Tillakaratne Dilshan made 50 off 59 balls and Upul Taranga 19 off 31.

Both Sangakkara (92 off 87 balls with 7 fours and a six) and Jayawardene (100 off 81 balls with 9 fours and a six) were dismisse by off spinner John Davison.

With only 5 overs left, the lower middle order went for quick runs and lost Thisara Perera (11 off 11) and Chamara Kapugedera (2 off 3) in quick succession.

Angelo Mathews played a typical quickfire cameo of 21 off 16 balls with 3 fours and Thilan Samaraweera, who came in at number 8, scored 18 off 10 .

Nuwan Kulasekara, who came in at the fall of Mathews hit a four off the last ball to complete the Sri Lankan innings.

None of the Canadian bowlers were outstanding, with Davison being the best, taking 2 for 56 off 10 overs.

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