Tri Series: Sri Lanka V Zimbabwe, 4th Match Review: Sri Lanka Coast to Comprehensive Victory

It was a quite impressive performance by the Sri Lankans as they romped home by five wickets to win the 4^th match of the Tri-Nation series also involving Bangladesh. The African minnows ‘ skipper Brendan Taylor won the toss and opted to bat first. Hamilton Masakadza and Solomon Mire shared a quickfire 44 runs stand for the opening wicket, but after the dismissal Hamilton Masakadza, there was a small procession of sorts as Zimbabwe were reduced to 73/4.

Thisara Perera bagged the first four wickets while the wicket of Sikandar Raza was snapped up by Lakshan Sandakan. Brendan played well for a half-century. However, his runs didn’t come at a brisk pace which never allowed Zimbabwe to press on the accelerator. Skipper Graeme Cremer provided the late order flourish which propelled them to a score of 198 but had they played out their full quota of overs a score of 250-260 were certainly on the cards. In all extras conceded by the Lankans were 23 which allowed them to near the 200 mark.

Chasing the modest target, Sri Lanka got off to a solid start, but after a stand of 33 between Kusal Perera and Upul Tharanga, the latter was castled by a well-disguised slower delivery from the Tendai Chatara. Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera struck some fabulous shots and hit eight boundaries between them. Despite the fall of the occasional wickets, it never really affected the morale of Sri Lanka as they eventually chased the total down with utmost ease.

Skipper Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera played handy knocks. Perera, in particular, started taking on the Zimbabwe bowlers the moment he arrived at the crease and struck three sixes and a four during his 26 balls 39. Chandimal, on the other hand, struck just a couple of boundaries en route to 38 of 71 deliveries. Eventually, the victory gives Sri Lanka a clear edge over their competitors.

Brief Scores

Zimbabwe 198 all-out in 44 overs (Brendan Taylor 58, Thisara Perera 4/33)

Sri Lanka 202/5 in 44.5 overs (Kusal Perera 49, Blessing Muzarabani 3/52)

Sri Lanka won by five wickets (with 31 balls remaining)

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