Muralitharan claimed four wickets in Zimbabwe's collapse

A superb spin display saw Sri Lanka easily beat Zimbabwe by six wickets in the first one-day match in Harare.

The hosts lost their last seven wickets for just three runs as Muttiah Muralitharan (4-14) and Ajantha Mendis (3-26) ripped through the order.

Sri Lanka made light work of the reply, despite the dismissal of Upul Tharanga after just three balls.

An unbeaten 46 from Kumar Sangakkara helped the tourists wrap up the victory in a little over 33 overs.

After Tharanga's early run out, Sangakkara and opener Mahela Udawatte (38) put on a 57-run partnership to help settle any Sri Lankan nerves.

Zimbabwe spinner Ray Price bagged a couple of wickets, but he failed to match the exploits of Muralitharan and Mendis as Sangakkara hit a boundary to win it for the visitors.

The hosts had looked well placed on 124-3, but the introduction of the two Sri Lankan spinners saw them collapse to be all out in only 31 of their scheduled 50 overs.

The second one-day match takes place on Saturday.

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