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Pepsi Independence Cup: New Zealand bowl out Sri Lanka for 214

Hyderabad, India, May 20 (AFP) - Shayne O'Connor made a dream debut in international cricket as New Zealand shot out world champions Sri Lanka for 214 in a key Independence Cup match here on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old left-arm seamer had Sanath Jayasuriya caught at fine leg in his second over, before bowling master batsman Ar- avinda De Silva in his fourth to reduce Sri Lanka to 23 for two in the seventh over.

O'Connor also claimed the vital wicket of Roshan Mahanama in his second spell to finish with 3-44 in a match which takes the winner into the best-of-three finals. Gavin Larsen chipped in with 3-43.

Sri Lanka, who elected to take first strike, were struggling at 126 for five before Mahanama (41) and Romesh Kaluwitharana pre- vented a total collapse by adding 47 for the sixth wicket.

Kaluwitharana, demoted in the order after making just 14 in his last seven innings, top-scored with a brisk 44 off 36 balls to car- ry the world champions past the 200-run mark.

New Zealand, who blooded newcomers O'Connor and Craig McMillan in place of seamers Heath Davis and Andrew Penn, unsettled the Sri Lankans by giving off-spinner Dipak Patel the new ball.

Patel, who first opened the bowling in the 1992 World Cup, bowled 10 steady overs on the trot for 37 runs and kept the Sri Lankans down to 82 for three from the first 20.

Marvan Atapattu, promoted as opener in place of Kaluwitharana, made 41 before Nathan Astle ran him out with a direct throw from point.

The match began at 4 pm (1030 GMT) after the Indian cricket board turned down a request from local officials to delay the start by an hour because of excessive heat.