This was the best match of my career: Dilshan

Extremely pleased with his terrific all-round show, Tillakaratne Dilshan -- who scored a blazing century and picked four wickets -- said he played the best match of his career against Zimbabwe on Thursday.

Dilshan scored 144 runs and took four wickets by giving just four runs as Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 139 runs to seal a place in the quarter-finals in the World Cup.

- Zimbabwe crushed under Dilshan, Tharanga tons

- Scorecard 

The flambouyant opener shared a 282-run partnership with Upul Tharanga for the opening wicket, which is second highest in the history of World Cup.

"This is my career's best match. Very good wicket to bat, ball came on well. The hat-trick unfortunately went away, but before that, Mahela took a brilliant catch, so the second wicket really went to him. I think everyone's performing very well, so we are in a good position," Dilshan said after getting Man-of-the-Match award.

He also warned the rivals teams by saying that he is "looking forward to carry his good form into the quarter-final stage."

Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara also said that the partnership between Dilshan and Tharnaga took away the match from Zimbabwe.

- World Cup coverage

"This is where I am from, and it is a magnificent ground. We adjusted our line-up for the dew, but things were ok today. The opening stand just took it away. Dilshan has that magic touch with bat, ball and on the field. Murali is a champion, and that's why he is rated the best in the world. When the tough times come, he stands up," he said.

Losing skipper Elton Chigumbura said, "We have to beat Kenya and do well against Pakistan. Disappointed with the show today... good atmosphere in this stadium."