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).
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.
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.
“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.
On the other hand, Shanaka praised the inexperienced side for winning the series despite missing a few big names in the side.
“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.
