Fast bowlers Thilan Thushara and Nuwan Kulasekara caused another Pakistan top-order collapse as Sri Lanka completed a 36-run victory in the first one-day international in Dambulla.

Thushara, bowling first change, struck with his first delivery to remove Kamran Akmal (20) and he then sent back Shahid Afridi (27) and captain Younus Khan (12) in quick succession.

Kulasekara had begun the destruction with the new ball, bowling makeshift opener Shoaib Malik for nine and having Mohammad Yousuf caught behind for four as Pakistan stumbled to 78 for five in pursuit of 233 for victory.

Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan then bagged two wickets as Pakistan were bowled out for 196 in 44.4 overs.

Pakistan had started the chase briskly with Akmal getting off the mark with a boundary and bludgeoning three more during his short stay.

Malik struggled against Kulasekara and managed nine off 19 deliveries when the fast bowler got one to move away a touch and peg back off stump.

Sri Lanka's strike bowler Lasith Malinga, just returning from injury, had shared the new ball with Kulasekara but proved ineffective.

Malinga sent down four overs in his first spell and was replaced by Thushara, the left-arm fast bowler striking immediately by bowling the dangerous Akmal.

Afridi played a typically belligerent hand - he thumped Malinga for a six off the first delivery of the second spell from the fast bowler - but fell when he attempted to deliberately steer one from Thushara through the slip cordon. He instead ended up feathering a catch to Kumar Sangakkara.

Younus was Thushara's third victim, the Pakistan captain caught in the deep by Angelo Mathews while attempting a cut.

Prior to that, Kulasekara had dismissed Mohammad Yousuf cheaply and later, Muralitharan, introduced immediately after the end of the fielding powerplays, had Misbah-ul-Haq (nine) caught and bowled as Pakistan suffered another collapse.

Fawad Alam and Adul Razzaq kept the chase alive with a slow approach and a 39-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

Sanath Jayasuriya, however, ended that partnership by dismissing Alam (31), while Razzaq was Muralitharan's second victim shortly afterwards.

Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer then gave the home team a scare with 62-run stand for the ninth wicket. Gul clubbed Malinga for four boundaries in his eighth over and was the dominant partner as the visitors were left needing only 46 from the last seven overs.

But the end came swiftly as Mahela Jayawardene ran out Aamer (23) and Malinga bowled Gul (33 off 21 deliveries) to complete the win.

Earlier, Pakistan began brightly in the morning and Sri Lanka's total had looked far from likely at the start as they slipped to 125 for five and later 173 for seven.

But strong rearguard action from Mathews (43), Kulasekara (16) and Muralitharan (32 off just 15) helped the home side finish with a respectable 232 for nine.

Younus had elected to field and his bowlers nicely exploited the assistance offered by the pitch to keep Sri Lanka's batsmen on a leash.

Aamer, who finished with three for 45, set the tone with a good first over conceding just two, but it was Razzaq - sharing the new ball with Aamer - who asked more questions of openers Upul Tharanga and Jayasuriya.

Jayasuriya was dropped twice - by wicketkeeper Akmal on one occasion and again by Razzaq off his own bowling on nine - but eventually perished immediately after Gul was introduced for the ninth over.

Jayasuriya (15) drove Gul's first delivery to the ropes - his only boundary - but then attempted a trademark cut off the second delivery and only managed an edge which went straight to Aamer at deep point.

Tharanga (17) was next to go, his scratchy innings ended by Razzaq who had him caught behind by Akmal.

His dismissal brought captain Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene together, the duo briefly reviving Sri Lanka's innings with a stand worth 48 for the third wicket.

But just when Sri Lanka seemed to gain the edge, Pakistan hit back through their slow bowlers.

Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal brought a tame end to Sangakkara's innings, the skipper falling for 36 as he attempted to cut Ajmal over the infield but only succeeded in picking out Afridi at point.

Leg-spinner Afridi then snared Chamara Kapugedera (eight), while Thilan Samaraweera marked his return to one-day cricket after a gap of four years with a brief stay and a meagre contribution of just 10.

Mathews and Kulasekara then launched a rearguard action and their association for the seventh wicket yielded 42.

That partnership ended when Kulasekara spooned a catch to Razzaq off Aamer in the first over of the batting powerplay, but Mathews got the home side's total past the 200-run mark with a stand worth 31 in quick time for the eighth wicket with Muralitharan.

Murali clubbed four boundaries and a six in his 15 balls and Sri Lanka finished with a flourish with 54 runs from the five overs of the batting Powerplay.