BULAWAYO, April 20: Kumar Sangakkara scored a well-paced 73 not out to help Sri Lanka beat a severely weakened Zimbabwe by 12 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis scoring method after rain disrupted the first One-day International here on Tuesday.
Sangakkara's innings off 72 balls guided his side to 144 for four when bad light ended the match after 27 overs of their innings while chasing a revised target of 173 from 33 overs. The visitors were ahead of the run target under the system.
Earlier, Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu scored a career-best 96 not out to rescue his side and post a respectable 211 for six after 50 overs, before rain disrupted the match in the seventh over of Sri Lanka's innings.
The 20-year-old wicket-keeper, the first black player to captain his country, came to the crease after the home side had lost both openers with only a run on the board, then steered his team to their total after they slumped to 79 for five.
Zimbabwe were fielding a weakened side after 15 white players, including former captain Heath Streak, made themselves unavailable as part of an ongoing battle with their board.
The inexperienced lineup started poorly after being sent in by Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu, with openers Vusi Sibanda and debutant Brendon Taylor dismissed without scoring.
Dion Ebrahim (13) then helped Taibu add 46 runs for the third wicket before he advanced down the pitch to Zoysa and edged a catch to Mahela Jayawardene. Zimbabwe then slumped to 79 for five in the 25th over after debutant Elton Chigumbura (13) and Stuart Matsikenyeri (six) were dismissed.
Alester Maragwede, who scored 37 from 44 balls, then shared 75 runs with Taibu for the sixth wicket, before Taibu and Mluleki Nkala pushed Zimbabwe past 200 with an unbroken partnership of 57 scored from 48 balls.
Sri Lanka began their run chase positively with Sanath Jayasuriya driving the first ball bowled by medium pacer Douglas Hondo through the covers for four before he became Tinashe Panyangara's first wicket when he was caught by Ebrahim for nine.
Atapattu quickly followed for a six-ball duck when he was trapped in front by Hondo, before it began raining in the seventh over with the visitors struggling at 31 for two.
When play resumed Jayawardene was caught in the deep by Panyangara for five before Zoysa mistimed a pull shot to Taylor at mid-on and was out for 14. Sangakkara and Tillekaratne Dilshan (35 not out) then snuffed out Zimbabwe's hopes of an upset with a 67-run fifth wicket stand. The next match in the series will be played at the same venue on Thursday.
Scoreboard
ZIMBABWE:
V. Sibanda c Sangakkara b Zoysa 0
B.R.M. Taylor b Vaas 0
D.D. Ebrahim c Jayawardene b Zoysa 13
T. Taibu not out 96
E. Chigumbura c Muralitharan b Zoysa 13
S. Matsikenyeri st S'kkara b Murali 6
A. Maregwede c Dilshan b Chandana 37
M.L. Nkala not out 33
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-5, W-3, NB-3) 13
TOTAL (for six wkts, 50 overs) 211
FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-1, 3-47, 4-64, 5-79, 6-154.
DID NOT BAT: T. Panyangara, D.T. Hondo, P. Utseya.
BOWLING: Vaas 10-5-31-1; Zoysa 7-2-21-3 (1nb, 1w); Kulasekara 3-0-26-0 (1w); Muralitharan 10-1-47-1; Chandana 10-0-43-1 (1nb); Jayasuriya 8-0-31-0 (1w); Arnold 2-1-5-0.
SRI LANKA:
S.T. Jayasuriya c Ebrahim b Panyangara 9
M.S. Atapattu lbw b Hondo 0
K.C. Sangakkara not out 73
M. Jayawardene c Panyangara b Hondo 5
D.N.T. Zoysa c Taylor b Chigumbura 14
T.M. Dilshan not out 35
EXTRAS (LB-3, W-5) 8
TOTAL (for four wkts, 27 overs) 144
FALL OF WKTS: 1-9, 2-9, 3-44, 4-77.
DID NOT BAT: R.P. Arnold, U.D.U. Chandana, W.P.U.J.C. Vaas, K.M.D.N. Kulasekara, M. Muralitharan.
BOWLING: Hondo 7-1-34-2 (3w); Panyangara 5-1-22-1; Chigumbera 5-0-32-1; Nkala 6-0-34-0 (1w); Taibu 4-0-19-0 (1w).
RESULT: Sri Lanka won by 12 runs (D.L. Method).
UMPIRES: K.C. Barbour (Zimbabwe) and D.J. Harper (Australia).
TV UMPIRE: R.B. Tiffin (Zimbabwe).
MATCH REFEREE: M.J. Procter (South Africa).
NEXT MATCH: Bulawayo, April 22. -Reuters