Sri Lanka, the hosts of this year’s Champions Trophy, had a regulation 206-run victory over Holland in a Pool 4 match under lights at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday to stroll to the semi-final.

Condemned to the field after the Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya had decided to bat first, there wasn't exactly a run-riot (as expected from most quarters) from the highly capable Lankan top-order.

Master-blaster Jayasuriya, whom many felt should have rested a dicey shoulder for this game, had just got going when he smashed a Victor Grandia delivery right into the hands of young Bas Zuiderent in the covers.

Marvan Atapattu (101) who made his sixth ODI hundred and wicket-keeper/batsman Kumar Sangakkara (41) then shared 116 for the second wicket which provided the platform for a huge total.

Some excellent efforts on the field maged to restrict a rampant Lankan side on home soil to 292 for 6 . Roland Lefbvre (2 for 59) and Pakistan-born Adeel Raja (2 for 50) were the main wicket takers for the visitors.

But when it was their turn to show their wares with the willow, Holland, who had seven players making their ODI debut, were left hollow. Inexperience was the cause for the team’s showing as later admitted by their 39-year old captain, Roland Lefbvre.

Much was expected of Bas Zuiderent, who has the experience of playing county cricket for Sussex. But he fell, a first-ball victim to Chaminda Vaas. Tim De Leede, one of the survivors of their only other previous international cricket outing, the 1996 Wills World Cup, top-scored with 31 off 43 balls including five boundaries as the Dutch were bundled out for just 86 half-way through the 30th over.

Spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, a tough proposition for the best of batsmen, let alone the young Dutch side, as expected bamboozled the men in bright orange picking up 4 for 15 and Pulasthi Gunaratne, Lanka's new find on the bowling front took 2 for 19 while another off-spinner Kumar Dharmasena cashed in with 2 for 14.

Even though their performance with the bat was not up to scratch, they showed a lot of enthusiasm and this translated into a few fantastic fielding efforts, the catch to dismiss Aravinda de Silva (23) by Tim De Leede in particular was special and probably the catch of the competition so far.

Atapattu for his stellar 118-ball innings containing eight fours was named the Man-of-the-Match.

Holland, the least experienced of the 12 teams in the Emerald isles, has one more game on hand, against another formidable Asian giant - Pakistan.

Statistical Highlights:
---By Daniel Puran Singh

• Holland was just playing in their second tournament. They previously had appeared in five matches in the 1996 Wills World Cup.
• Sri Lanka were playing their 100th match on home soil. Their playing record now reads: Won 65, Lost 26 and 9 No Result.
• Holland had seven debutants in the game, taking their ODI players list to 20.
• Facing Holland, meant that the Lankans have now played against 11 different ODI teams.
• The day/night encounter at the R.Premadasa stadium meant that Holland are the 12th team to play in floodlight ODIs.
• 39-year old Roland Lefebvre of Holland was captaining his second ODI. His only other captaincy assignment was against Pakistan in the 1996 World Cup.
• The second-wicket stand (116) between Atapattu and Sangakkara is the maiden century partnership between these two countries.
• When Marvan Atapattu (101) reached his century, which was his sixth overall and his first against the Dutch side, it was the 600th century registered in the history of ODIs.
• Atapattu also joined England's Graham Hick and South Africa's Andrew Hudson as the only other two batsmen to score a hundred against the Dutch. However Hudson's 161 in the 1996 World Cup is still the top individual score against Holland.
• Muralitharan (4-15), chalked up his seventh four-wicket bag in One-dayers.
• Wicket-keeper Sangakkara, for the first time (4ct + 1st) had five dismissals in an innings. He becomes the fourth Lankan keeper to perform this feat in ODIs.
• This 206-run victory margin is their second biggest win in terms of runs. The 245-run victory against India in Sharjah in 2000 is still their biggest win.
• Sri Lanka's maiden triumph against Holland was also their 169th win in One-dayers.
• The Man-of-the-Match award was the 14th of Atapattu's ODI career.