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Zimbabwe skipper Sikander Raza scored 62 runs from 42 balls and took three wickets for just 13 runs in his full quota of four overs but could not save his side from a loss in a last-ball thriller against Sri Lanka at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Angelo Mathews on his return to T20I cricket rescued Sri Lanka from a batting collapse in the run chase and had support from Dasun Shanaka followed by Dushamantha Chameera's finishing touches to lead the hosts to a three-wicket win.
Wanindu Hasaranga won the toss and opted to bowl first. After two quiet overs, Mathews took a beating and conceded 13 runs. Tinashe Kamunhukanwe did the bulk of the scoring in powerplay overs before getting dismissed by Maheesh Theekshana. The spinner dismissed Craig Ervine in the same over as well. Sean Williams was dropped early in his innings but struggled to score in the middle overs. Raza played the anchor knock.
Hasaranga returned to dismiss Williams for a 20-ball 14. In his last over, Hasaranga got the wicket of Ryan Burl. Raza in the 18th over hit Nuwan Thushara for two fours to reach his half-century from 37 balls. In the penultimate over, Raza hit Chameera for a six and got out the next ball. He scored 62 runs from 42 balls including five fours and a couple of sixes. In the final over, Luke Jongwe hit two fours to help Zimbabwe post 143/5.
In the run chase, Sri Lanka lost their first wicket early as Richard Ngarava dismissed Pathum Nissanka. In the fourth over, Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera hit Jongwe for two fours each. Wellington Masakadza dismissed Perera in the fifth over for a 13-ball 17. In the sixth over, Blessing Muzarabani got the wicket of Mendis for a 15-ball 17. Raza introduced himself into the attack and struck the first ball to dismiss Sadeera Samarawickrama. At the halfway stage, Sri Lanka were 61/4. Mathews ended the boundary drought with a six off Jongwe in the 13th over. In the next over, Raza struck twice to dismiss Charith Asalanka and Hasaranga.
Mathews got the run chase in control with Shanaka on the other end. He hit Muzarabani for two fours. Shanaka did it against Ngarava. In the penultimate over, he hit two four more fours against Ngarava. Sri Lanka needed 14 runs off six balls. Matthews hit two consecutive fours off Muzarabani and was dismissed off the fourth ball. He scored 46 runs from 38 balls including five fours and a six. Chameera did not crumble under pressure and hit a boundary. On the final ball, he hit the ball into the gap and took two runs to get his side home. On the other end, Shanaka remained unbeaten for 18-ball 26.
“Felt like playing my debut. I wasn't trying to prove anything to anyone. It was just another opportunity for me to try and do the job for my team. It was a slow wicket and was important to stay till the end. Zimbabwe played really well, Sikandar batted really well and bowled really well. We kept losing wickets at crucial intervals, I stuck in there and Dasun played really well in the end. We needed to get 10 RPO [runs per over], so we had to keep pushing ourselves and run hard as well,” Player of the match Mathews said in the post-match presentation.
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