All-rounder Farveez Maharoof grabbed four wickets to propel Sri Lanka to an emphatic 119-run run victory over England in the first ODI. Maharoof ripped through the top order after a positive start by England’s batsmen, claiming the key wickets of Phil Mustard, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook, finishing with 4 for 31 from 10 overs.Sri Lanka’s victory platform was set-up earlier in the afternoon as skipper Mahela Jayawardene top scored with 66 to guide his team to a competitive 269-7 on a sluggish pitch. Jayawardene was well-supported by this fellow top order batsmen with Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara and Chamara Silva all chipping in. England captain Paul Collingwood was the tourists’ most effective bowler, claiming two for 44 from his 10 overs. England started their reply confidently with debutante Mustard racing to 27 from 17 balls with three fours and a six, adding 43 with Cook for the first wicket. But Maharoof’s entry into the attack swung the game decisively Sri Lanka’s way as Mustard chipped to mid off. Maintaining a tight line and length and nipping the ball off the seam, Maharoof then found the outside edges of both Bell and Pietersen. ScoreboardSri Lanka: U Tharanga c Collingwood b Broad 40;S Jayasuriya c Bopara b Sidebottom 41; K Sangakkara st Mustard b Swann 38; M Jayawardene c Shah b Collingwood 66; C Silva c Cook b Collingwood 33; T Dilshan not out 11; J Mubarak c Anderson b Broad 1; F Maharoof c Anderson b Sidebottom 22; C Vaas not out 1. Extras (b-3, lb-5, w-8) 16Total (7 wickets; 50 overs) 269Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-95, 3-166, 4-225, 5-237, 6-240, 7-264Bowling: Anderson 8-0-47-0 (3w), Sidebottom 10-0-56-2 (2w), Broad 10-0-54-2 (2w), Collingwood 10-0-44-2 (1w), Swann 10-0-47-1, Shah 2-0-13-0. England: A Cook c Sangakkara b Maharoof 46; P Mustard c Malinga b Maharoof 27; I Bell c Sangakkara b Maharoof 0; K Pietersen c Sangakkara b Maharoof 1; P Collingwood c Jayawardene b Fernando 9; O Shah c Mubarak b Malinga 7; R Bopara not out 27; G Swann c Malinga b Dilshan 24; S Broad run out 1; R Sidebottom st Sangakkara b Dilshan 2; J Anderson c Jayawardene b Jayasuriya 0. Extras: (w-6) 6. Total (all out; 34.5 overs) 150.Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-58, 3-60, 4-73, 5-91, 6-102, 7-144, 8-145, 9-149Bowling: Vaas 5-0-32-0 (1w), Malinga 6-0-32-1 (3w), Fernando 7-0-23-1 (1w), Maharoof 10-2-31-4, Dilshan 4-0-20-2 (1w), Jayasuriya 2.5-0-12-1.
