Bulawayo [Zimbabwe], June 25 : Sri Lanka's batter Dimuth Karunaratne brought up his maiden ODI century in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier match against Ireland in Bulawayo on Sunday.
After being awarded 'Player of the Match' for his knock of 103, which contributed to a comprehensive win for Sri Lanka by 133 runs against Ireland, Karunaratne said when he gets the start, he wants to make it big.
"Not at all (On whether the chance for ODI hundred had passed him), wanted to continue for the team. That's what I do. If I get a start, I want to go for the big one. (On the pitch) In the morning, there is something for the bowlers, but when the swing stops we can get some boundaries. I was waiting for that, the first hour was about giving the bowlers respect. I try to apply the same technique, that is what has helped me score heavily in Test cricket. Don't try to hit them hard, just time them well," Karunaratne said.
Put into bat by Ireland, SL scored 325 in their innings.
Century from Karunaratne and knocks from Sadeera Samarawickrama (82 in 86 balls, with four boundaries), and Dhananjaya de Silva (42 in 35 balls, with four boundaries and a six) helped the one-time champions to a big total.
Mark Adair (4/46) and Barry McCarthy (3/56) were among the best bowlers for Ireland.
In its chase of 326 runs, Ireland was never a threat to Sri Lanka. They were reduced to 86/5 at one point. Harry Tector (33 in 35 balls) and Curtis Campher (39 in 31 balls) provided last hope to Ireland but their dismissals by the 20-over mark left the Men in Green on the verge of a massive defeat. Ireland's tail took the aggressive route but could not survive the guile of Hasaranga who finished with 5/79. Besides that, Maheesh Theekshana also took 2/29.
Ireland was bundled out for just 192 in 31 overs.
Karunaratne earned the 'Player of the Match' award for his ton. With this result, Sri Lanka make it to the Super Six stage of the Qualifier while Ireland are out of the World Cup race. One-time champions are at the top with three wins in three matches and a total of six points. On the other hand, Ireland is yet to win a game, have lost all of their three matches. They are at fourth position.
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