Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, 5th ODI Review: Zimbabwe win the decider to record historic series win in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s cricket reached it lowest ebb in recent times as they conceded a home ODI series to minnows Zimbabwe. The series was tied at 2-2 making the last ODI in Hambantota today a virtual final which was won by the visitors by 3 wickets and 71 balls to spare. Sikandar Raza was the star of the win, steering them to the target with an unbeaten 27 after he rocked the top order of the hosts with a magnificent spell of 3/21.

First series win in Sri Lanka

Before the start of the series, Zimbabwe hadn’t won a single game against Sri Lanka in their own backyard. They did win an ODI in 2001 playing in Colombo but that was against the West Indies. That they will end up winning a series in the Island was never envisaged by anyone. The side punched above their weight to record a memorable series win which marks the improvement Zimbabwean cricket has had over the last couple of seasons.

Skipper Graeme Cremer won the toss and put the hosts in first on a pitch which had a tinge of grass. Cremer along with Raza tormented the Sri Lanka batsmen with their crafty spin bowling but it was Tendai Chatara, who got them the initial breakthrough when he sent the in-form Dickwella back to the hut in the second over of the innings. It was Creamer and Raza’s turn to tighten the screws as they went on to collect 5 wickets between them. Chatara’s strike was the first and last wicket to fall to a medium pacer in the Sri Lanka innings as the slow bowlers struck telling blows for the rest of the innings.

Spinners torment Sri Lanka batsmen

After the early wicket, Raza accounted for the in-form pair of Kusal Mendis and Upul Tharanga to leave Sri Lanka in tatters at 31/3. Gunathilaka strung a 47-run partnership with Angelo Mathews for the 4th wicket in a bid to resurrect the innings. But before the pair could bat Sri Lanka out of trouble, skipper Mathews lost his wicket to a peach of a delivery from his opposite number Creamer. 41 runs later, Gunathilaka was walking back to the pavilion after scoring a patient 52. He was trapped in front of the part-time bowling of Sean Williams, who returned with a decent 1/41 off 10 overs. From then on, only Asela Gunaratne offered stoic resistance remaining unbeaten on 59. He ensured that the home side cross the 200-run mark which will give the bowlers something to bowl at. The spinners broke the spine of the home side recording outstanding figures of 35-2-106-7. A target of 204 looked very gettable given the good form displayed by the visitor batsmen.

Brisk start by the visitors in the chase

The hero of the first game – Solomon Mire – got his side off to a brilliant start by taking on the new ball bowlers of Sri Lanka. Experienced batsman Hamilton Mazakadza was steady in his approach and looked to bat until the end. Both openers added 92 off 86 balls to give their side the ideal start in pursuit of 204. Sri Lanka made the error of not bowling spin early, something that the visitors did and reaped the benefits. Gunaratne was introduced to bowl the 5th over and finally got the wicket of Mire. The home side was lax in the field, dropping a couple of chances which hurt them badly. If they had picked a couple of early wickets, they would have stood a chance of defending 204 but it was not to be.

Mazakadza was joined at the crease by No. 3 Musakanda. Both added 45 runs for the second wicket before the former was brilliantly taken at mid off by Kulasekara. Just 67 runs from 26 overs separated them from a first series win in Sri Lanka when Mazakadza was exiting the arena.

Hosts fight back with spin

Sri Lanka made a comeback in the game by picking 5 more wickets for just 38 runs to pull the match back in their favour. Akila Dananjaya struck in three successive overs to send shivers in the Zimbabwean dressing room. He got rid of Craig Ervine followed by Sean Williams before sending the settled batsman Musakanda back for a fine 37. Malinga caught one of his own bowling to get the crowd going. Dananjaya struck again in the next over to leave the visitors to get 29 runs with just 3 wickets in hand.

Raza does the finishing act

It was left to the experience of Sikandra Raza as far as the visitors were concerned. He hit two strikes across the fence to overhaul Sri Lanka’s target with a ball short of 12 overs to spare. The 31-year old was adjudged the Man of the Match was his fine all-round performance. Sri Lanka need to address their dip in form as soon as possible. They need to recognize the players who will be a part of the scheme of things for the World Cup in 2019.

Brief Scores

Sri Lanka – 203 for 8 in 50 overs (Asela Gunaratne 59*, Danushka Gunathilaka 52, Sikandar Raza 3/21, Graeme Creamer 2/21).

Zimbabwe – 204 for 7 in 38.1 overs (Hamilton Masakadza 73, Solomon Mire 43, Akila Dananjaya 4/47, Lasith Malinga 2/44).