Twitter Reactions: Zimbabwe pull off excellent win as Dasun Shanaka's century goes in vain

Zimbabwe stunned Sri Lanka with a 22-run win at Pallekele to level the series 1-1.

By Manoj Kumar

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3 Min Read

Craig Ervine Zimbabwe
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Zimbabwe cricketer Craig Ervine scored a quickfire 69* (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Coming into the series, not a lot of people would have expected Zimbabwe to beat Sri Lanka but the visitors have pulled out a massive win against the Island nation to level the series 1-1. Despite valiant efforts from Dasun Shanaka, who brought up his first ODI century, the hosts could not chase down the total set by Zimbabwe. Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani picked up three wickets each to bring Zimbabwe back into the game and turned out to be the pick of the bowlers from the African side.

Earlier in the game, Zimbabwe had won the toss and chose to bat at the Pallekele stadium. The openers produced yet another good stand while the experienced campaigners Craig Ervine and Sean Williams’s partnership for the third wicket turned out to be the game-changer. The duo added 106 until Williams perished at the 33rd over the mark and it was up to the skipper to get the team to a respectable total. Ervine deserved a century but was dismissed for 91 and Sikandar Raza carried the responsibility from thereon. The all-rounder scored a useful half-century and got the side to a good total of 302 on the board.

Loss of early wickets haunts Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan side in the chase had gotten off to the worst start as they lost four wickets for just 63 runs in a big run chase. However, Kamindu Mendis and Shanaka stitched an important partnership together in the middle for the fifth wicket and were cruising at one point. However, it was just a matter of one wicket, as Mendis fell for 57 at the 35th over mark with still 122 runs to win the game.

The skipper continued his excellent striking along with a partnership with Chamika Karunaratne for the sixth wicket and brought up his first century in international cricket. The all-rounder hit seven fours and four sixes in his innings of 102 and was finally dismissed in the 45th over the mark with 56 runs needed in 32 deliveries.

Karunaratne and Chameera did take it to the 48th over but the pressure of the scoreboard accounted for the dismissal of both the players and Zimbabwe knew they had sealed the victory almost. In the end, the Zimbabwe side won the game comfortably by 22 runs and the final game is going to be the series decider.

Here’s a look at how Twitterati reacted to Zimbabwe’s win:

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