Chandana spins out UAE

Chandana, whose cameo 21 off 24 balls was instrumental in the hosts going past the 200-mark, grabbed four for 22 to help the islanders avoid any major embarrassment in the six-nation tournament.

Avishka Gunawardene’s well paced 73 off 89 balls was pivotal to the Sri Lankan innings while record breaking off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan marked his return to international cricket with figures of three for 21.

It was a perfect answer to his critics who had derided him for withdrawing from the two-Test tour of Australia citing ’personal reasons’. Left-arm paceman Nuwan Zoysa picked two for 11 to complete the UAE rout.

Brief scores

Sri Lanka: 239 (S Jayasuriya 21, A Gunpwardene 73, M Jayawardene 26, Asad 2/35, K Khan 4/32) beat UAE 123 (R Rai 39, Zoysa 2/11, Murali 3/21, Chandana 4/22).