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Sikandar Raza

ZIMBABWE recovered from a first-game mauling to turn on the style on the special occasion of the 100th ODI match at Mirpur in Dhaka, Bangladesh, yesterday to beat Sri Lanka in a cliffhanger of a contest to record their first win over of a fellow Full Member on neutral soil for 15 years. The Chevrons were outclassed in their first match of this ODI series by hosts Bangladesh but showed they can compete at this level by beating Sri Lanka by 12 runs in a nerve-wrecking match yesterday.

‘’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,’’ the ESPNCricinfo ball-by-ball reporter concluded. 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.’’

Sikandar Raza was named man-of-the-match for his unbeaten 81, a wicket and some fine catches in Sri Lanka’s run chase as the Asians folded up for 278 in pursuit of Zimbabwe’s total of 290-6.

“I did plenty wrong,” he said. “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 (Mire) 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 (Taylor), 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.” His captain Graeme Cremer was ecstatic. We could not have hoped for anything better with the bat,” he said. “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.”

Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Matthews said his team could have done better. “We were scrappy from the outset, gave away too many runs in the first 10 overs,” he said.

“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.”

Raza, Hamilton Masakadza and Tendai Chatara, who took four wickets, were the stars as they combined to lead Zimbabwe to victory, their first win against a Full Member at a neutral venue in 15 years. Raza made an unbeaten 81 and took the key wicket of Kusal Perera, who made 80.

He also took two catches, off Angelo Mathews and former Sri Lanka captain Thisara Perera. It was the Thisara catch that finally swung the game Zimbabwe’s way. Thisara climbed into Graeme Cremer for 15 runs in the 38th over, after his side slipped to 199 for 6 chasing 291 to win. Wanindu Hasaranga’s dismissal in the 40th over didn’t deter him either.

Thisara hit Cremer over long-off for his second six before an edge through third man brought the equation down to under a run-a-ball. Akila Dananjaya then holed out at cover and although replays showed that Tendai Chatara may have marginally overstepped, the third umpire’s decision went in favour of Zimbabwe.

Thisara picked singles thereafter, but after he had struck a huge six in the 47th over, he struck a low full toss to Raza at deep midwicket. Thisara’s exit, after his 37-ball 64 with five fours and three sixes, was the opening Zimbabwe needed as Chatara eked out the last wicket, that of Dushmantha Chameera in the 49th over.

Openers Masakadza and Solomon Mire had earlier given Zimbabwe a strong start with a 75-run stand. Masakadza blasted Suranga Lakmal for two fours in the first over and Solomon Mire bludgeoned five fours in his 37-ball 34.

After Mire fell in the 13th over, Ervine followed cheaply. Masakadza and Taylor added 57 runs for the third wicket. The well-set Masakadza fell in Gunaratne’s first over after making 73 off 83 balls with 10 boundaries. Taylor fell for a 51-ball 38, before Raza and Malcolm Waller added 57 for the fifth wicket. Waller slammed two fours and a six in his 29 off 35 balls.

Raza though lifted Zimbabwe’s momentum towards the end, striking Lakmal for five fours in two overs. He added 61 runs for the sixth wicket with Peter Moor off just 6.3 overs. Moor struck two sixes in his 19 before becoming Gunaratne’s third victim.

Scores

Zimbabwe 290 for 6 (Raza 81*, Masakadza 73, Gunaratne 3-37) beat Sri Lanka 278 (Kusal 80, Thisara 64, Chatara 4-33) by 12 runs. — Sports Reporter/ESPNCricinfo.