Pallekele, March 10: Tillakaratne Dilshan produced one of the all time great World Cup performances to help Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 139 runs in a Group A 2011 ICC World Cup encounter. Dilshan’s knock of 144 and his four wickets for just four runs in three overs also helped Sri Lanka become the first team from Group A to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Put in to bat by Zimbabwe, Dilshan and fellow opener Upul Tharanga put on a breathtaking partnership. The ball regularly found its way to the boundary as the duo shred the Zimbabwe attack to pieces. Their 282-run stand for the opening wicket in 44.3 overs became the first ever double-century opening stand in World Cup history. Dilshan scored 144 while Tharanga posted an individual best of 133. Riding on the back of those two performances at the top of the order, Sri Lanka finished with a score of 327 for the loss of six wickets in 50 overs. Zimbabwe pacer Chirs Mpofu took four wickets to emerge as the leading bowler for the visitors.

Brendan Taylor and Regis Chakabva matched Dilshan and Tharanga for the initial part of Zimbabwe’s reply. The opening pair put on the first 100 runs for Zimbabwe at exactly a run-a-ball. Taylor’s half-century in just 39 deliveries was the highlight of the partnership.

But with the score at 116, Muttiah Muralitharan bowled Chakabva (35) and Zimbabwe went into freefall. Tatenda Taidbu (4) and Taylor (80) fell in the 23rd and 25th overs respectively. This set the stage for Dilshan who dismissed Prosper Utseya (4), Craig Ervine (17), Greg Lamb (0) and Tinashe Panyangara (0) to orchestrate the close of the Zimbabwe innings with the score at 188.

The win takes Sri Lanka to the top of Group A with seven points and also makes them the first team from the same group to qualify for the quarter-final stage of the competition. Zimbabwe, with two points from four games, are placed in fifth position.

Brief scores:Sri Lanka 327 for 6 in 50 overs (Tillakaratne Dilshan 144, Upul Tharanga 133, Chris Mpofu 4/62) beat Zimbabwe 188 all out in 39 overs (Brendan Taylor 80, Regis Chakabva 35, Tillakaratne Dilshan 4/4, Muttiah Muralitharan 3/34) by 139 runs

Man-of-the-match: Tillakaratne Dilshan for his all-round performance of 144 runs and bowling figures of 3-1-4-4