The series between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka is officially over as one side has picked up a massive victory, while the other will have to go back to their drawing board. Talking about the Lions, specifically, they have finally won this series and get a huge boost of confidence once again after having a very tough outing yesterday.
A group that has the Asia Cup about 5 days away, this victory was massive for them to understand that their side has ability to fight and come out on top no matter what tense situation they are in. With Wanindu Hasaranga returning as their main bowler during that tournament because he missed these three matches due to injury, that will be massive since he seemed like an enormous loss.
Captain Charith Asalanka has continued proving to be a tremendous motivator and always seeming to put his players in situations to succeed. Meanwhile, their opponents in Zimbabwe have fought hard this series and shown signs of life even though they haven’t come out on the winning side.
Given that their main captain Craig Ervine was ruled out for the 5th straight match in this series, and their key pieces like Wessly Madhevere are taking rest for African qualifiers, many younger pieces have shown that this once again can potentially be a dominant side. Leader Sikandar Raza has really shown strength in his own skills, while also making great use of other players to set up correct batting plus bowling orders.
Zimbabwe: Unit Was Able To Put On A Dominant Show In This Match’s First Innings
Looking at the way this Chevrons side was batting today, it really felt like everyone played a vital role in getting them past 190 runs during this game. An opening partnership of 26 was created between Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Muramani, as they both showed immense batting prowess within those first three overs.
Hitting quite a few boundaries within that period, Bennett scored 13 runs with two classy boundaries before being the first piece to be removed after Kusal Perera made a great catch. On the other end, Muramani stayed in and continued building on an impactful innings by creating a duo with Sean Williams of nearly forty as both lefties ended the powerplay on a strong note.
With them getting past 60 runs in less than 7 overs, there was a clear intent to strike when Williams came in, as he kept hammering away, five fours, and didn’t seem to play in any defensive style. Although he was caught by Hemantha afterwards, his innings was definitely match-changing and formed the biggest partnership of this match between Muramani and Sikandar Raza. Knowing that it was a lefty-righty combination, the captain took advantage of this mismatch and provided a 28-run knock, while mixing up the way he attacked. Sometimes taking them on or going for reverse sweeps, his innings allowed for them to hit get towards 121/3 as he was removed from a catch.
Right after that, Tadiwanashe Muramani went past a half-century and became a full-time member again for the first time. Although this piece’s wicket fell almost immediately, Ryan Burl and Tashinga Musekiwa developed another 27-run partnership with four combined boundaries. When it seemed like they were going to finish their innings out, both these batters were removed within an over as well, and this side needed Tony Munyonga’s 13 knock to help them finish at 191/8.
Sri Lanka: Heavy Struggles Today Despite A Few Bright Spots In Their Lineup
For Sri Lanka, today was a day they had to forget bowling-wise because it seemed like opposing batsmen were hitting at their own will against them. Although captain Charith Asalanka was very economical throughout his overs at just 6.33, many other bowlers couldn’t find that same success or tempo in this match.
Starting with Dusan Hemantha, he was pretty expensive in this match, going for nearly 10 an over, and couldn’t quite create any magical turn on the ball like normally. Someone who did pick up three wickets, they were all against back-order batsmen who were playing with very high risk, plus kept moving front or back between the wickets to hit shots. Knowing that he was their only other spinner, that was a problem because this side had to rely on pacers that were continuously getting taken on heavily.
One such fast bowler was Binura Fernando, who went for 48 runs during his full spell and didn’t possess any sort of wicket-taking threat. Even after coming in from the left end against righties, his line and length weren’t good enough to make a mismatch that then led to batters of both hands having their own way against him.
As Mateesha Pathirana is glorified for that yorker with his unique action, he did look like a threat with two wickets in the final over, but outside of that, he was going for nearly 10 runs an over and kept bowling too wide at times. Dushmantha Chameera did look a little strong today with two deliveries that were angling down batsmen’s pads and also allowing less than 8.25 every 6 balls, while Dushan Shanka closed it out with one over that went for 9.
Sri Lanka: Smashing Innings Carried This Side To Victory
On the Lions’ side, their batters were absolutely on point and helped recover what was a pretty poor bowling outing. Opening once again was Pathum Nissanka, who continues wrecking havoc against every bowling attack he faces these days. In a partnership of 58 runs to begin their innings, he added 33 of his own and seemed unstoppable with his running between the wickets. Turning singles into doubles plus striking the ball at his own will, this was someone who really got their run rate off to a very strong start.
With Kusal Mendis on the other side playing aggressively too, he had a strike rate over 175 and hit four combined boundaries before being the first wicket to fall for 30 runs at 58/1. Although Nissanka continued building on his batting and finished with 5 total boundaries, his wicket put them into a 76/2 score.
Then, the match-winning partnership between Kamil Mishara and Kusal Perera was an absolute game-changer as both of them stayed connected plus showed that their form was back. With Mishara getting past the 50 mark, it was clear that he had an advantage against almost every bowler, while smashing 10 total boundaries.
A combined effort that included 7 fours in open parts and three maximums that flew off the rails, he finished the match with 73 runs and accounted for a huge chunk of that during their 117 partnership. On the other end, despite Perera not getting to yet another half-century, he was extremely close and just kept showing how he can time the ball perfectly. Having 46, it gave them a good right-handed batsman next to a lefty in order to create confusion and keep rotating strike.
Zimbabwe: Bowlers Couldn’t Keep Their Ground At All In This Match
As Zimbabwe couldn’t get anything positive out of their bowling attack today, it was clearly a tough outing since they had shown so much promise lately. Leading bowler Blessing Muzarabani got tormented left and right today as he went for 43 runs during his 3 overs, while not getting any ability to connect on bouncers. Seeing his struggles, Richard Ngarava was also having troubles from the left end as he couldn’t find the correct length on any delivery and kept over-pitching the ball, forcing it to be more batter-friendly.
Having an economy of over 11 was a rare occasion for him, and even Tinotenda Maposa didn’t provide any true wicket-taking threat. Talking about spinners, although Brad Evans got someone out today, he allowed over 9 runs an over and really couldn’t create any swing on his deliveries. Similarly, this issue occured with Sean Williams in his single over, while Sikandar Raza was the only real decent bowler with 29 runs allowed during his full overs.
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