Cricket

Zimbabwe tour of Sri Lanka 2022

An inexperienced Sri Lankan top order crumbled under the scoreboard pressure as Zimbabwe beat the hosts by a comfortable margin of 22 runs. Skipper Dasun Shanaka’s maiden ton went in vain as Sri Lanka’s run chase got derailed after his wicket.&nbsp;&nbsp;Top order collapseBlessing Muzarabani was exception with the new ball as he removed Pathum Nissanka and experienced campaigner Dinesh Chandimal in the first powerplay. From the other end, Tendai Chatara getting rid of Kusal Mendis. Chasing a tough target of 303, Sri Lanka found themselves struggling at 31/3 in the eighth over. Things did not get better in the next few overs as Charith Asalanka departed after playing himself in.&nbsp; Shanaka revives run chaseComing to bat at no.6 in the 15th over with score reading 63/4, Shanaka played his natural game and launched a counter-attack while Kamunda Mendis played cautiously. The two shared a 118-run partnership for the fifth wicket but the required run rate kept climbing up. Shanaka helped Sri Lanka stay in the game with his big hitting. He got out in the 45th over but not before scoring 102 runs off 94 deliveries including seven fours and four sixes. Unimpressive finishAfter Chatara got Shanaka’s wicket, Sri Lanka still needed 56 runs from 32 deliveries but it was too much for Chamika Karunaratne to handle. Big-hitting Karunaratne departed for a 38-ball 34 in the 48th over and in the end, it became too easy for Zimbabwe to choke the lower order batters. Sri Lanka could manage to put 280/8 on the board. For visitors, Muzarabani and Chatara took three wickets each. Ervine leads the wayAfter Craig Ervine won the toss and elected to bat first at Pallekele International Stadium, Zimbabwe got off to a good start with a 59-run opening stand. While wicketkeeper-batter Regis Chakabva missed his half-century by just three runs, Ervine dominated Sri Lankan bowlers and scored 91 runs from 98 deliveries including 10 fours. He missed out on reaching the three figures as spinner Maheesh Theekshana got rid of him. The skipper shared a 106-run third-wicket stand with Sean Williams. While Williams missed his half-century by two runs, Sikandar Raza was destructive towards the end scoring 56 runs off 46 deliveries. Raza got Zimbabwe past 300 and got out off the final delivery of the innings. For Sri Lanka, Jeffrey Vandersay was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets for 51 runs.&nbsp; This was Zimbabwe’s 12th ODI win over Sri Lanka in 59 ODIs. The Ervine-led side will have a chance to win the three-ODI series at the same venue on January 21.

zimbabwe-tour-of-sri-lanka-16-jan-2022

Captain Shanaka's maiden ODI ton in vain as Zimbabwe pacers stun Sri Lanka top order to win 2nd ODI

After failing to chase in the second ODI, Sri Lanka came out all guns blazing with the ball to hand an embarrassing defeat to Zimbabwe and win the ODI series 2-1. Chasing a total of 255 at the same venue (Pallekele International Stadium), Zimbabwe’s batting collapsed and managed to put just 70 runs on the board. The 184-run win is Sri Lanka’s second-biggest win against Zimbabwe in ODIs (margin of runs).&nbsp;&nbsp;Defending 255, Dushmantha Chameera triggered the collapse with the new ball by taking the wickets of opener Regis Chakabva and skipper Craig Ervine off consecutive deliveries in the third over. While Zimbabwe batters barely scored runs, they kept losing wickets and were reduced to 52/8 in the 19th over. Jeffrey Vandersay did not let the tail wag and bundled up Zimbabwe’s innings for 70 in the 25th over. Only opener Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Ryan Burl managed to score in double digits.&nbsp;&nbsp;Earlier Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Pathum Nisanka and Charith Asalakna’s scored half-centuries but Sri Lanka kept on losing wickets which prevented them from posting a big total on the board. There were a few useful cameos from Chamika Karunaratne (30) and Ramesh Mendis (26) which helped the hosts get past the 250-run mark.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We have putting in some really good performances but extremely disappointed to end the tour this way. The wicket was fairly dry and it was only going to get slower. We were blown away in the first ten overs. Our opening partnership is a huge plus. We were struggling in that aspect. Kaitano is a great find and I am sure he is going to be up there for a while,” a disappointed Ervine said in the post-match presentation.&nbsp;&nbsp;On the other hand, Shanaka praised the inexperienced side for winning the series despite missing a few big names in the side.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We played really good cricket throughout. Toss played a crucial part in the series, played a huge role. It was more on the slower side, we spoke about 270 being ideal. We were 20 runs short by we knew our spinners will come to play. I came after returning Covid positive, Chameera too. So I trained for this series and wanted to do well. Pleased to get the hundred. Around eight players not there for this series but we still won the series,” Shanaka said.

Sri Lanka bundle out Zimbabwe below 100 for 5th time to win ODI series 2-1

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