First one-day international, Dambulla:
Sri Lanka 232-9 (50 overs) beat Pakistan 196 (44.4 overs) by 36 runs
Match scorecard

Sri Lanka bowler Thilan Thushara (right) ended with figures of 3-29

Sri Lanka eased to a 36-run victory in their first one-day international against Pakistan in Dambulla.

The hosts bowled their opponents out for 196 with five overs to spare, having earlier made 232-9.

Thilan Thushara did the damage for Sri Lanka finishing with 3-29 while Anjelo Mathews (43) and Kumar Sangakkara (36) top scored for the hosts.

Umar Gul (33) and Fawad Alam (31) were the only innings of note as Pakistan laboured in reply.

Fellow seamer Nuwan Kulasekera also ripped into Pakistan's top order taking 2-30.

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It could had been even worse when the tourists, beaten 2-0 in the preceding Test series, slipped to 134-8 before tail-enders Gul and Mohammad Aamir (23) boosted the total with a rousing ninth-wicket stand of 62.

The pair took the total to 196-8 when both batsmen fell in the space of two deliveries to hand Sri Lanka the lead in the five-match series.

Earlier, Sri Lanka recovered from their own top order failure to post a competitive total.

All-rounder Mathews led the late revival, with the last four Sri Lankan wickets adding 101 valuable runs before the 50 overs ran out.

Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who missed the Test series with a knee injury, marked his return with an aggressive 32 off 15 balls that included four boundaries and a six.

The second game of the series will be played at the same venue on Saturday.

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