Mendis, Tharanga steer Sri Lanka to title
Sri Lanka rode on fifties from Kusal Mendis and Upul Tharanga and a good all-round showing in the field to romp home to a convincing six-wicket win over Zimbabwe
Sri Lanka rode on fifties from Kusal Mendis and Upul Tharanga and a good all-round showing in the field to romp home to a convincing six-wicket win over Zimbabwe
Commentator: Akshay Gopalakrishnan
That brings an end to our coverage of this tri-series. It has been a fascinating one that has seen every result possible and at the end of it all, Sri Lanka have been crowned deserving winners. We hope you enjoyed our coverage of this match and the series; I have certainly enjoyed bringing it to all of you. Plenty of cricket to look forward to, though, with two interesting Test matches happening between India and England, and New Zealand and Pakistan, so tune in then. Until next time then.
The last two times a batsman scored a fifty with strike rate of under 60 in a tournament final: Tharanga today and Tharanga against Australia in 2012.
Samson: "Zim and SL players looks very friendly to each other. No sledging nothing. way to play cricket"
Qaaid: "More than anything, the spirit in which the teams played with was refreshing to see"
Upul Tharanga: "I think it's a really happy moment. Full credit to the guys, they have done a really great job over the last two weeks. We knew we had to only get one good partnership. Mendis batted very well, and from there, it got easier and easier. Everybody has done a great job, we have found some new players as well who have put their hands up and performed well. Thanks to the support staff as well, they have done a good job. South Africa will be a tough series and we have to work hard."
Mendis: "Yeah, very happy. Pitch was good and good bowling from my team, we are very happy. I enjoyed my time here."
Kusal Mendis is the Man of the Match and the Man of the series.
Graeme Cremer: "Definitely, to get to a final is always nice, but a bit disappointing today. We didn't think our day would end like this. It was a bit difficult to bat this morning and we lost quite a few wickets together. We've been watching him (Brian Vitori) in the nets. He just came in and got wickets upfront. For sure, we have got together in short space of time. The team spirit is up. The guys are hungry to perform and hungry to succeed and we can't ask for anything more form them."
Full marks to Sri Lanka for a clinical performance. Their bowlers did well and were helped by some poor shot selection from Zimbabwe's batsmen. Sri Lanka began the chase in puzzling fashion, going after everything and losing three quick wickets. But a more sedate approach after the interval eased down matters. Upul Tharanga struggled for the most part and ended up with an unconvincing, scratchy knock. But full credit to him for willing to grind it out and staying till the end. Of course, nothing unconvincing about the last few shots. We will have the presentations shortly.
Brian Vitori had been suspended from bowling in international cricket in February this year.
Despite the defeat to Sri Lanka in the tri-series final, Graeme Cremer was positive about Zimbabwe's overall performance through the series
Sri Lanka legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay said that his side's ability to pick wickets in clusters made the difference in the tri-series final against Zimbabwe
Terrific fielding, not-so-terrific fielding and Sean Williams feature prominently in the plays from the tri-series final in Bulawayo
Sri Lanka rode on fifties from Kusal Mendis and Upul Tharanga and a good all-round showing in the field to romp home to a convincing six-wicket win over Zimbabwe