Mumbai, March 18:Joint hosts Sri Lanka put up a strong performance in their last Group A encounter against New Zealand in the 2011 ICC World Cup. The match, played at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, saw Sri Lanka thump the Kiwis by 112 runs with captain Kumar Sangakkara leading the way with a knock of 111 runs.

It was Sri Lanka who batted first on the day. Apart from Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (66) and Angelo Mathews (41*), none of the other Lankan batsmen posted double digit scores. And had it not been for the 145-run partnership for the third wicket between Sangakkara and Jayawardene, Sri Lanka would not have reached anywhere near their final innings score of 265.

Chasing that target against the Sri Lankan bowling attack was always going to be a difficult proposition and the Kiwis surrendered without much of a fight. Openers Martin Guptill (13) and Brendon McCullum (14) fell to Nuwan Kulasekara and Angelo Mathews respectively. Then the spin combination of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis cut through the middle-order to bowl the Kiwis out for a mere 153 in just 35 overs.

Murali took four wickets, giving away just 25 runs in his eight overs, while Ajanth Mendis took two for 24 in his six over spell.

While both sides are through to the quarter-final round, the win mostly leaves Sri Lanka the opportunity to finish second in the group. While they are currently placed at the top of Group A with nine points, the winner of the Australia-Pakistan game on March 19, will displace them to finish at the top of this Group. New Zealand have played all their six Group games and have eight points from the four victories that they registered earlier in the tournament.

Brief scores:Sri Lanka 265 for 9 in 50 overs (Kumar Sangakkara 111, Mahela Jayawardene 66, Tim Southee 3/63) beat New Zealand 153 all out in 35 overs (Ross Taylor 33, Muttiah Muralitharan 4/25, Ajantha Mendis 2/24) by 112 runs

Man-of-the-Match:Kumar Sangakkara for his knock of 111, that set up Sri Lanka’s total of 265