Sri Lanka's batsmen made hard work of reaching a low Zimbabwe target with two wickets to spare in front of a full house in the under-19 World Cup match in Bogra, Bangladesh on Sunday.
The run rate was never going to be a problem for Sri Lanka as they chased Zimbabwe's modest 161. But early wickets kept Zimbabwe in contention until an 83-run sixth wicket partnership between Gihan de Silva (33) and Chamith Kulasekara (37 not out) turned the game in Sri Lanka's favour.
Over 15,000 spectators packed out the stands for first-ever official international match at the Bogra District Stadium.
Zimbabwe were put into bat by Sri Lanka and were soon struggling at 10 for 3. A spirited innings from Sean Williams (47 off 110 balls) provided the foundation of Zimbabwe's fightback but aside from a 41-run contribution from Colin de Grandhomme (41), support was lacking.
Sri Lanka's most destructive bowler was captain Parveez Maharoof who took four wickets for 28 runs in his 9.3 overs.
"We played well as a team and our bowling was good," said Maharoof.
"We did enough to win this match and hopefully we will still be winning come the final on 5 March."
Zimbabwe's captain Tinotenda Mawoyo was disappointed with the defeat.
"All of our players tried their best but we gave away too many easy runs to win the match, hopefully we can still make the Super League," said Mawoyo.
Kulasekara was named the man of the match.
Brief Scores:
Zimbabwe Under-19: 161 all out in 49.3 overs (S Williams 47, C de Grandhomme 41, P Maharoof 4-28, AD Mathews 2-27).
Sri Lanka Under-19: 162 for 8 in 38.2 overs (C Kulasekara 37*, G de Silva 33, E Chigumbura 3-37).
