Toss: Kenya. International debut: L. Onyango. Kenya swiftly returned to earth after their apotheosis against West Indies, while Sri Lanka were heading for the stratosphere. Determined to show that they would have scored maximum points even if Australia and West Indies had come to Colombo, they bagged a clutch of records. Most notably, their 398 for five was a world record for any one-day international, comfortably leaving behind England's 363 for seven against Pakistan in 1992 – and that total occupied 55 overs, not 50. The star batsman was De Silva, who scored his country's maiden World Cup century and went on to 145, a Sri Lankan record in all limited-overs internationals. He needed only 115 balls, hitting 14 fours and five sixes. Ranatunga, his captain, might have scored an even faster hundred; he made 75 not out in just 40 balls, with 13 fours and a six, having reached 50 in 29 balls, another World Cup record. Both De Silva and Ranatunga passed 5,000 one-day international runs – the first Sri Lankans to do so. The tone had been set right from the start, when Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana raced to 83 in a mere 40 balls, paving the way for De Silva and Gurusinha to add 184 in 182 balls, Sri Lanka's best for any wicket in limited-overs internationals. Kenya had opted to chase, but they could hardly have reckoned on chasing eight an over. They rose gallantly to the occasion, however; their 254 for seven was the third-highest total by a non-Test side, after Zimbabwe's 312 against Sri Lanka in the 1992 World Cup and Sri Lanka's 276 for five against Australia in 1975. Steve Tikolo was yorked four short of Kenya's first century at senior level – he hit eight fours and four sixes in 95 balls – after adding 137 for the fourth wicket with Hitesh Modi. That helped to set up a combined match total of 652 for 12, only ten behind the world record of 662 for 17 set by Sri Lanka and West Indies at Sharjah in October 1995.

Man of the Match: P. A. De Silva.

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