Skipper Kusal Mendis’ quick-fire fifty led Sri Lanka to a 8-wicket win in the third ODI over Zimbabwe after Wanindu Hasaranga’s career-best figures of 7/19 as the islanders sealed the three-match series 2-0 at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.
Chasing 97 to victory, Sri Lanka lost Avishka Fernando in the first over off Richard Ngarava for the third time in this series as he walked off the field, finishing a disappointing series with the bat.
Then, it was all about skipper Kusal Mendis putting on a show with the bat, notching up his 27th ODI half-century off 37 balls and first as captain. He along with the debutant Shevon Daniel, added 73 runs for the second wicket.
Wellington Masakadza broke that partnership, restricting Daniel’s maiden ODI innings to a 28-ball 13. In 16.4 overs, Sri Lanka reached the target with 8 wickets in hand. The skipper Mendis smashed an unbeaten 66 runs off 51 balls while making 9 fours & a six and Sadeera Samarawickrama made an unbeaten 14.
With this win, Sri Lanka managed to clinch the three-match ODI series 2-0 after rain washed out the series opener as the hosts recorded 7th One Day International series win over Zimbabwe as well as the third on home soil.
At the post-match presentation, Wanindu Hasaranga was named Player of the Match while Janith Liyanage was adjudged as the Player of the Series.
Earlier, Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine won the toss and decided to bat first while making three changes as they replaced Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Wellington Masakadza and Luke Jongwe for Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Faraz Akram and Tapiwa Mufudza.
On the other hand, the highly-talented top order batter, Shevon Daniel made his One Day International debut, becoming the 212th ODI player for Sri Lanka while star leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was also back in the side after a 6-month break as the former captain Dasun Shanaka and leg spinner Jeffrey Vandersay were left out of the team.
Joylord Gumbie and Takudzwanashe Kaitano opened the innings as they gave Zimbabwe a decent start adding 40 runs in 7.4 overs before rain intervened at around 3.03 pm local time.
After the rain interruption, the match resumed at 5.15pm and was reduced to 43 overs per side. Wanindu Hasaranga was introduced and made his comeback with a wicket in his first over. Kaitano (17 off 24) was to go as Madushanka held onto a good diving catch at the short fine leg when the batter who looked to sweep, ended up with a top-edge.
The star leg spinner tried to turn the match on its head when he struck twice in his next over, dismissing Gumbie for 29 and the captain Ervine for a 6-ball duck after trapped them right in front, but rain spoiled the party again at 5.34pm.
After another more than two-hour break, the play restarted at 8.00pm while reducing the game to 27 overs per side. Again, Hasaranga began the proceedings with the wicket of Milton Shumba as the visitors failed to recover after losing wickets at regular intervals.
Hasaranga bagged 7 wickets for only 19 runs in 5.5 overs, recording his best bowling figures while registering his fourth 5-wicket haul as Zimbabwe bundled out for mere 96 runs in 22.5 overs. Apart from him, Maheesh Theekshana, Janith Liyanage and Dushmantha Chameera shared the other three wickets to fall.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joylord Gumbie | lbw b Wanidu Hasaranga | 29 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 85.29 |
| Takudzwanashe Kaitano | c Dilshan Madushanka b Wanidu Hasaranga | 17 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 70.83 |
| Craig Ervine | lbw b Wanidu Hasaranga | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Milton Shumba | lbw b Wanidu Hasaranga | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 22.22 |
| Sikandar Raza | st Kusal Mendis b Maheesh Theekshana | 10 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 90.91 |
| Ryan Burl | b Janith Liyanage | 9 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 69.23 |
| Clive Madande | b Wanidu Hasaranga | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Luke Jongwe | c Kusal Mendis b Dilshan Madushanka | 14 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 82.35 |
| Wellington Masakadza | c Dushmantha Chameera b Wanidu Hasaranga | 11 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 55.00 |
| Richard Ngarava | not out | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Blessing Muzarabani | lbw b Wanidu Hasaranga | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 2 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 1, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 96/10 (22.5 Overs, RR: 4.2) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dilshan Madushanka | 5 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 6.20 | |
| Maheesh Theekshana | 5 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 3.00 | |
| Dushmantha Chameera | 4 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3.50 | |
| Janith Liyanage | 3 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 5.67 | |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | 5.5 | 1 | 19 | 7 | 3.45 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shevon Daniel | c Milton Shumba b Wellington Masakadza | 12 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 42.86 |
| Avishka Fernando | c Joylord Gumbie b Richard Ngarava | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kusal Mendis | not out | 66 | 51 | 9 | 1 | 129.41 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | not out | 14 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 82.35 |
| Extras | 5 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 97/2 (16.4 Overs, RR: 5.82) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Ngarava | 3 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 6.67 | |
| Blessing Muzarabani | 6 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 6.33 | |
| Sikandar Raza | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Wellington Masakadza | 2.4 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 6.25 | |
| Luke Jongwe | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 5.00 | |
