Thilan Samaraweera's defiant century, backed up by three wickets in a single over from Lasith Malinga, gave Sri Lanka a crushing 97-run win over New Zealand yesterday in the opening match of the tri-nation series which also features India.

Batting first, Sri Lanka recovered from a disastrous start to reach 216-7 and later bowled the Black Caps out for just 119 in the 37th over.

Samaraweera made 104 and shared a crucial 127-run partnership with Anjelo Mathews (51) to give Sri Lanka's bowlers a competitive total to defend.

Like Sri Lanka, New Zealand made a poor start with the bat, losing their first three wickets for just seven runs. A brief 30-run stand between Brendon McCullum and Grant Elliot gave the tourists some hope, but Malinga struck three times in the 19th over to end any chance of a New Zealand comeback.

Elliot top-scored for New Zealand with 41 runs. Malinga was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 4-28.