Aravinda D'Silva joins 6000-club as Lanka beat Zimbabwe

Sri Lanka's vice captain Aravinda d'Silva became the first player from that country Sri Lankan to score 6,000 runs in one-day internationals as his team swept to victory in the opening match of the Sharjah Cup on Thursday.

De Silva, named Man of the Match, reached the landmark during a match-winning innings of 60 which guided the World Cup champions to a seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe with 4.2 overs to spare.

Zimbabwe were restricted to 187 for nine in their 50 overs, paceman Chaminda Vaas taking three for 25 in his 10 overs, following which Sri Lanka romped home to 188 for three in 45.4 overs.

Flamboyant opener Sanath Jayasuriya, named this week as one of Wisden's five cricketers of the year, led the Sri Lankan charge with a fluent 56 of 74 balls, lashing seven fours and one six off pace bowler Eddo Brandes. Marvan Attapatu, playing in the side for the axed Asanka Gurusinghe, also scored a half-century.

The two came together after opener Romesh Kaluwitharana was dismissed for a duck, and put together a second wicket stand of 79. Atapattu, who hit 52 not out, then teamed up with D'Silva to put on 107 for the third wicket to clinch victory.

D'Silva, who will join skipper Arjuna Ranatunga as the only Sri Lankan players to appear in 200 ODIs when his side takes on Pakistan on Friday, has now become one of only 9 players to have scored over 6000 runs in ODIs. The other eight are Desmond Haynes, Alan Border, Dean Jones, Salim Malik, Javed Miandad, Vivian Richards, Richie Richardson and Mohammad Azharuddin.