Mumbai, Feb 13: The ICC World Cup warm-up matches got underway on Saturday, the February 12 with teams teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh making their intentions going into the mega-tournament clear. With the inaugural match of the competition just under a week away, teams are eager to hit their top form right from the beginning of the tournament. Here is a roundup of the first batch of warm-up games.

South Africa v Zimbabwe – SA won by eight wickets

MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, Day/Night match

South Africa handed Zimbabwe a crushing eight-wicket defeat in their warm-up game played at Chepauk, Chennai. Zimbabwe, who won the toss and elected to bat first, were bowled out for a paltry 152 runs. Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir took three wickets each for the Proteas. Opener Brendan Taylor, who scored 40, was the leading scorer for Zimbabwe. In reply, South Africa chased down the target with minimal fuss, in just 23.3 overs. Hashim Amla (45), Graeme Smith (41) and Jacques Kallis (49*) all made good contributions.

Irelandv New Zealand – NZ won by 32 runs

Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur, Day/Night match

In a match that saw the two teams score nearly 600 runs in the day, New Zealand beat Ireland by 32 runs at Jamtha, Nagpur. Put in to bat by Ireland, the Kiwi batting was led by opener Martin Guptill who blasted his way to a score of 130 (134 balls, 12X4, 3X6). Jesse Ryder (48), Ross Taylor (33) and James Franklin (49) played adequate supporting roles. Owing to Guptill’s innings and a reasonably good middle-order showing, the Kiwis posted 311/6 in 50 overs. Ireland began the run chase threatening to pull off an upset. They were very much in the game until the middle of the 31st over when their score read 177/3. But their middle-order was unable to come good and they fell short of the target by 32 runs. Daniel Vettori took 4/42 for the Kiwis, while opener William Porterfield was the star batsman for Ireland with his 74-ball knock of 72.

Bangladeshv Canada – Bangladesh won by nine wickets

Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong, Day/Night match

Perhaps the most dominant performance of the day came from co-hosts of the ICC World Cup 2011, Bangladesh. Opting to field after winning the toss, Bangladesh bowled Canada out cheaply, for a mere 112 runs in just 37.3 overs. Shakib Al Hasan was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, his figures reading 3.3-2-5-3. Bangladesh got to the target in style with opener Tamim Iqbal scoring a blustery 50-ball 69, while Imrul Kayes remained unbeaten on 39*.

Kenyav West Indies – WI won by 61 runs

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Day match

Ramnaresh Sarwan (123), Dwayne Bravo (54, 1/40) and Andre Russell (4/43) put in impressive performances for the West Indies that helped the Caribbean side trump Kenya by 61 runs. After being asked to bat, West Indies were in a spot of bother with the score at 65/4 in 19.3 overs. But a 94-run partnership between Sarwan and Bravo, followed by Sarwan’s century, helped the Caribbeans to an impressive 253/8 in 50 overs. Kenya, briefly, looked competitive, when they needed 117 runs off 94 deliveries with eight wickets in hand. However, crucial strikes from Russell and Kemar Roach (3/23) halted Kenya’s progress and the African team were bowled out for 192 in 45.3 overs.

Sri Lankav Netherlands – SL won by 156 runs

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Day match

Sri Lanka sent out a warning to all opponents with a thumping 156-run win against Netherlands in their warm-up tie played in Colombo. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, the Sri Lankans put in a solid showing with four of the top six batsmen posting half-centuries. Tillakaratne Dilshan was the highest scorer, notching up 78 runs in as many deliveries. Batting at a run-rate of just above seven-an-over, the Sri Lankans finished their innings at 351/5 in 50 overs. The Dutch never really looked capable of chasing down the target. Dilhara Fernando took 4/43 as Netherlands were dismissed for 195 in 47.3 overs.