Serasinghe ton sets up victory against Hong Kong

Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI 222 for 4 (Serasinghe 101, Perera 46) beat Hong Kong 218 for 5 (Butt 116*) by six wickets

Scorecard

Despite Hussain Butt's unbeaten century, Hong Kong could muster only 218 in the first one-dayer against Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI at the Premadasa Stadium, a target which was easily overhauled by the hosts with 41 balls to spare, largely due to a hundred from Sachithra Serasinghe.

Butt's 116 was the only significant score in Hong Kong's effort. Their openers fell cheaply and it was left to Butt to hold the innings together with a string of medium-sized partnerships in which he did the bulk of the scoring. Zain Abbas' patient 37 off 75 balls was the second-highest score as the other batsmen occupied the crease but found scoring difficult.

The Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI, however, got off to a rapid start with opener Amal Athulathmudali cracking 32 off 25 balls with seven fours. They had reached 49 in the seven over when Athulathmudali was dismissed but Kushal Perera joned Serasinghe and added 115 for the second wicket.

That partnership took the game away from Hong Kong, and Serasinghe batted on until the doorstep of victory. He was dismissed for 101 off 112 balls, an innings that included a dozen fours and two sixes, with his team one run away from winning the match. Janudika Sriyapala scored the runs that gave the hosts the lead in the three-match series.