Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe

At Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, December 8. Sri Lanka won by nine wickets. Sri Lanka 5 pts. Toss: Sri Lanka.

Vaas became the first bowler to claim eight wickets in a one-day international - five days after taking 14 Test wickets on the same ground against West Indies. As in the Test, his success was based on controlled, each-way swing on a true pitch. He dismissed Ebrahim with his first ball and took Sri Lanka's first limited-overs hat-trick in his sixth over - starting with Carlisle, the only Zimbabwean to reach double figures, and followed by Wishart and Taibu, both to vicious in-swingers. Vaas was on course for all ten until Muralitharan, who had held the previous one-day record - seven for 30 against India in 2000-01 - picked up the last two. Zimbabwe were routed for 38, the lowest total in limited-overs internationals, five less than Pakistan's 43 against West Indies at Cape Town in 1992-93. That match had also produced the previous lowest aggregate in a completed one-day international - 88 for 13 wickets - and at 32.2 overs had been the shortest international uninterrupted by bad weather; this game shattered both records. The crowd had witnessed a mere 78 runs for 11 wickets in 20 overs: Sri Lanka needed just 26 balls as they zoomed to victory before noon.

Man of the Match: W. P. U. J. C. Vaas.