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Sri Lanka 'A' claimed a 52-run win in the first 'A' ODI in Bulawayo on Sunday, thanks largely to centuries by Malinda Warnapura (100) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (111) that helped Sri Lanka to a difficult total of 319/5 from their 50 overs. Zimbabwe's bowling wasn't the best, with even the usually-economic Prosper Utseya going for 6/over, but to their credit Zimbabwe didn't roll over and made an effort to chase the total down.

The loss of Vusi Sibanda for 12 in the 5th over (1/19) didn't indicate the best of starts, perhaps, but Brendan Taylor (50) and Chamu Chibhabha (44) then put on 91 for the second wicket, and the chase was on, with Tatenda Taibu and Stuart Matiskenyeri also contributing useful knocks. After Taibu's dismissal in the 31st over, though, Sri Lanka began taking regular wickets, as the lower order did their best (with only Timycen Maruma failing to reach double figures) but were collectively unable to deal with the combined efforts of Dammika Prasad (2/63 & a catch to remove Utseya) and Sujeewa de Silva (3/36). Zim finished their innings on 267/9, which to be fair is one of their better recent batting performances. In the end, though, the head-start provided to the Sri Lankans by Dilshan and Warnapura was just too much for the home side to deal with.

Sri Lanka 'A' 319/5 (50 overs; Dilshan 111, Chibhabh 2/58), Zimbabwe Select 267/9 (50 overs; Taylor 50, de Silva 3/36). Sri Lanka 'A' win by 52 runs, lead series 1-0 with 2 to play.
Next match: 2nd 'A' ODI in Harare. The full scorecard for this match is below the cut.

Sri Lanka A innings
ML Udawatte	c Taibu b Chibhabha	        43
MDK Perera	c Taibu b Mahwire	        7
BSM Warnapura	st Taylor b Taibu	        100
TM Dilshan	c Maruma b Brent	        111
SHT Kandamby	c Taibu b Chibhabha	        16
CK Kapugedera	not out	                        15
KTGD Prasad	not out	                        2
    Extras	(b 5, lb 5, w 15)	        25
    Total	(5 wickets; 50 overs)	        319

Did not bat: JK Silva, HMRKB Herath, KMDN Kulasekara, 
WRS de Silva 

Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Perera, 3.2 ov), 2-84 (Udawatte, 14.6 ov), 
3-259 (Warnapura, 42.4 ov), 4-288 (Kandamby, 47.6 ov), 
5-306 (Dilshan, 48.6 ov)

Bowling	        O	M	R	W	Econ	
GB Brent	9	0	49	1	5.44	
NB Mahwire	6	1	41	1	6.83	
CJ Chibhabha	10	0	58	2	5.80	
P Utseya	10	0	60	0	6.00	(7w)
T Maruma	5	0	30	0	6.00	
KM Dabengwa	3	0	21	0	7.00	
T Taibu	        7	0	50	1	7.14	(5w)


Zimbabwe Select XI innings
V Sibanda	c Silva b Kulasekara	        12
BRM Taylor	b Prasad	                50
CJ Chibhabha	run out (Silva)	                44
T Taibu	        c Kulasekara b Herath	        31
S Matsikenyeri	run out (Herath)	        43
KM Dabengwa	c Kandamby b de Silva	        13
E Chigumbura	c Warnapura b Prasad	        14
P Utseya	c Prasad b de Silva	        19
GB Brent	not out	                        19
T Maruma	b Prasad	                8
    Extras	(b 1, lb 2, w 9, nb 2)	        14
    Total	(9 wickets; 50 overs)	        267

Did not bat: NB Mahwire 

Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Sibanda, 4.4 ov), 2-110 (Chibhabha, 17.4 ov), 
3-125 (Taylor, 22.1 ov), 4-165 (Taibu, 30.1 ov), 5-183 (Dabengwa, 33.3 ov), 
6-210 (Chigumbura, 38.3 ov), 7-226 (Matsikenyeri, 41.3 ov), 
8-243 (Utseya, 44.4 ov), 9-267 (Maruma, 49.6 ov)

Bowling	        O	M	R	W	Econ	
KMDN Kulasekara	9	0	48	1	5.33	(1nb, 6w)
WRS de Silva	10	0	63	2	6.30	(1nb)
CK Kapugedera	1	0	7	0	7.00	
KTGD Prasad	10	0	36	3	3.60	(1w)
MDK Perera	8	1	50	0	6.25	(1w)
HMRKB Herath	8	0	35	1	4.37	(1w)
TM Dilshan	4	0	25	0	6.25