Player of the Match
Player of the Match
2077dThe Report by Mohammad Isam

Zimbabwe overcome Thisara blitz in thrilling win

Sikandar Raza, Hamilton Masakadza and Tendai Chatara combined to lead Zimbabwe to a 12-run win over Sri Lanka, their first victory against a Full Member at a neutral venue in 15 years

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

Sikandar Raza
Sikandar Raza
81(67) 8x4 - 1x6
Control %78%
  • Productive Shot
  • cover drive
  • 20 runs
  • 3x4 - 0x6
10 8 7 9 26 7 8 6
MDKJ Perera
MDKJ Perera
80(83) 8x4 - 2x6
Control %77%
  • Productive Shot
  • cut shot
  • 38 runs
  • 6x4 - 1x6
3 3 29 6 15 9 6 9

Best performances - Bowlers

TL Chatara
TL Chatara
O8.1
M0
R33
W4
Eco4.04
RHB
OFFLEG
1W
1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W
1W
DAS Gunaratne
DAS Gunaratne
O7
M0
R37
W3
Eco5.28
RHB
OFFLEG
1W
1W
1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH

Match Details

Toss

Sri Lanka , elected to field first

Player Of The Match

Match number

Season

Hours of play (local time)

12:00 start, First Session 12.00-15.30, Interval 15.30-16.15, Second Session 16.15-19.45

Match days

17 January 2018 - day/night match (50-over match)

Reserve Umpire

Match Referee

Points

Zimbabwe 4, Sri Lanka 0

Commentator: Nikhil Kalro

What a conclusion to Mirpur's 100th ODI. An absolute thriller. Both teams fought until the end and Zimbabwe's persistent belief helped them come out on top. If you're just tuning in and would like to know what happened, Mohammad Isam's report should be up on the site soon. From here, this is all we have. Thanks for joining us.

Time for presentations.

"We were scrappy from the outset, gave away too many runs in the first 10 overs," says Angelo Mathews. "They had the wickets in the last 10 overs to capitalise on it. The wicket settled a little bit after the dew came in, but we also had wickets in hand. The run rate was pretty good, but we just kept losing wickets. Thisara was fantastic with bat and ball and Kusal batted brilliantly. Unfortunately the others couldn't convert that. Lots of positives. We can certainly improve and come back harder next time."

"We could not have hoped for anything better with the bat," says Graeme Cremer. "Sikandar came good with bat and ball.Shows the character of the team to bounce back after the beating in the last game. At one point, we thought 260 would be a par score. We know the quality Sri Lanka have in their batting so credit to our bowlers as well. We now play Sri Lanka again in the next game. It will be interesting to see how Sri Lanka v Bangladesh goes."

Sikandar Raza is Man of the Match. "I did plenty wrong," he says. "The way I started with the ball was exactly what the team didn't want. But the way we bounced back showed our character. I think Solo did exactly what we asked for. We trust Solo with decision-making and he's one of the best hitters of the ball. The partnership with Brendan, and in the end with PJ Moor came in handy. We showed a lot of character. We always knew one wicket would bring another. We always wanted that wicket of Thisara and we did get that."

7.00pm What a game we've had here in Mirpur. These are conditions that Sri Lanka will feel at home in. But Zimbabwe have played most of their cricket in similar slow, low pitches in Harare and Bulawayo, so under-estimate them at your peril.

By no means were Sri Lanka complacent, but Zimbabwe were just a tad better in the clutch moments of the game. Defending 290, Sri Lanka were in the game for the majority, down the moment the ball lobbed to point off Chameera. Sri Lanka have not had a great 12 months, and it has gotten worse in January. But they'll be back. Thisara Perera played a fine hand, and so did Kusal Perera. But Sri Lanka just lost too many wickets in that middle period, and it cost them eventually. Zimbabwe were disciplined through that period, and even though they lost their lines slightly towards the end, they held their nerve.

48.1
W
Chatara to Chameera, OUT, and Zimbabwe take the game! A slower short delivery outside off, Chameera is completely deceived by the lack of pace, meets the ball too early and the ball lobs to point. Sensational game goes to Cremer and Zimbabwe. It was a clever change in pace, with the batsmen expecting the ball full and straight, but it was an offcutter that flummoxed Chameera, forcing him to make contact much earlier than he expected. Sri Lanka's dismal ODI record in the last few months continues.

PVD Chameera c sub (B Mavuta) b Chatara 1 (4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 25.00

13 off 12. Pace.

END OF OVER:
48 | 2 Runs | SL: 278/9 (13 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 5.79, RRR: 6.50)

  • Dushmantha Chameera1 (3b)
  • Suranga Lakmal5 (9b)
  • Graeme Cremer10-0-62-2
  • Tendai Chatara8-0-33-3
47.6
1
Cremer to Chameera, 1 run, 87 kph, full on middle and leg, driven to long-on

A slip in place.

47.5
0
Cremer to Chameera, no run, the googly. Cremer is ensuring the ball isn't full, so that batsmen can't get underneath that. On off, defended

14 off 14. Cremer takes his time.

47.4
1
Cremer to Lakmal, 1 run, 82 kph, a low full toss down leg, worked away to long-on. 14 required.
47.3
0
Cremer to Lakmal, no run, short and wide outside off, the googly, pulled back to the bowler. Pressure
47.2
0
Cremer to Lakmal, no run, flat and wide outside off, Cremer very cleverly shortens the length, dabbed, or at least tries to dab the ball, misses

Sri Lanka 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st46WU TharangaMDKJ Perera
2nd1MDKJ PereraBKG Mendis
3rd85AD MathewsMDKJ Perera
4th25AD MathewsLD Chandimal
5th24LD ChandimalDAS Gunaratne
6th13NLTC PereraDAS Gunaratne
7th30NLTC PereraPW Hasaranga
8th37NLTC PereraA Dananjaya
9th14RAS LakmalNLTC Perera
10th3RAS LakmalPVD Chameera

Tri-Nation Tournament in Bangladesh

TeamMWLPTNRR
BAN431151.114
SL42290.146
ZIM4134-1.087