Sri Lanka cruised to a crushing six-wicket defeat of Zimbabwe on Thursday in the first of five one-day internationals. The Zimbabweans were asked to bat first and collapsed dramatically, losing their last seven wickets for just three runs. Their batsmen had no answer to the world-class spin bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 4-14 in just four overs and Ajantha Mendis, who posted 3-26. Zimbabwe could only manage 127 in 31 overs as the last six batsmen failed to score. Only experienced wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu succeeded with the bat, finishing 36 not out as he was forced to watch his team self-destruct at the other end while he batted. In reply, Sri Lanka lost four wickets on the way to a comfortable victory, Kumar Sangakarra scoring 50 as the tourists reached 130
