CRICKET: Zimbabwe end losing run

Sri Lanka 202 Zimbabwe 206-4 Zimbabwe win by six wickets

ZIMBABWE SALVAGED a little pride from their Test and one-day series defeat by Sri Lanka with a six-wicket success in the final limited-overs international here yesterday.

The belated victory, Zimbabwe's first since beating Kenya in Nairobi in October, was sealed by an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 78 between Murray Goodwin (47 not out) and Guy Whittall (37 not out). Goodwin and Whittall, named man of the match, came together at 128 for 4 in the 28th over after Sri Lanka set a target of 203.

Zimbabwe had put on 94 for the first wicket with Alistair Campbell making 36 and Grant Flower 52 but they then lost four relatively quick wickets for 34 runs in 10 overs.

The opening partnership ended in the 18th over when Campbell top-edged Mahela Jayawardene, the off-spinner, to Romesh Kaluwitharana behind the stumps. Flower went next, when he was run out by Sanath Jayasuriya from short fine-leg. Stuart Carlisle, who had hit a century in Saturday's one- day match, and the captain, Andy Flower, were also dismissed before Goodwin and Whittall saw Zimbabwe home.

Tuwan Dilshan's maiden one-day international half-century brightened an otherwise dour Sri Lankan batting display. Dilshan scored 53 off 73 balls with three fours before pulling Bryan Strang, the Zimbabwean seamer, to Carlisle on the mid-wicket boundary.

Marvan Atapattu (25) and Russel Arnold (39) added 60 off 89 deliveries for the fourth wicket, the best partnership of the innings. Sri Lanka won the three-Test series 1-0 and the five one-day international series 3-1. One game was washed out.

Sri Lanka won toss

SRI LANKA

*S Jayasuriya c A Flower b Rennie 6

R Kaluwitharana c Goodwin b Olonga 7

M Atapattu b G Whittall 25

M Jayawardena c Strang b Rennie 17

R Arnold c A Flower b G Whittall 39

T Dilshan c Carlisle b Strang 53

I de Seram c G Flower b G Whittall 7

U Chandana c A Whittall b Olonga 17

I Gallage run out (G Flower) 14

R Pushpakumara c A Flower b Strang 0

S de Silva not out 0

Extras (1b, 3lb, 2nb, 11w) 17

Total (48.2 overs) 202

Fall: 1-14, 2-14, 3-36, 4-96, 5-110, 6-118, 7-161, 8-200, 9-200.

Bowling: Olonga 8-0-42-2, Rennie 9.3-2-21-2, Strang 10-1-36-2, G Whittall 8-0-37-3, A Whittall 10-0-45-0, G Flower 3-0-17-0.

ZIMBABWE

A Campbell c Kaluwitharana

b Jayawardena 36

G Flower run out (Jayasuriya) 52

S Carlisle c Dilshan b Chandana 10

M Goodwin not out 47

*A Flower run out (Dilshan) 9

G Whittall not out 37

Extras (1b, 1lb, 5nb, 8w) 15

Total (for 4, 46.2 overs) 206

Fall: 1-94, 2-110, 3-110, 4-128.

Bowling: Pushpakumara 9-1-35-0, Gallage 8-2-36-0, de Silva 3.2-0-23-0, Arnold 5-0-16-0, Jayawardena 3-0-24-1, Chandana 10-0-33-1, Jayasuriya 8-0-37-0.