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CARL Mumba broke the back of the Sri Lankan innings, and there were quality fifties by Brian Chari, Tarisai Musakanda and Peter Moor and the result was a fairly comfortable victory for the Zimbabwe Development XI cricket side, by five wickets, over their Sri Lankan counterparts at Harare Sports Club on Saturday.

The Sri Lankans won the toss and decided to bat on a mild sunny day.

Moor had returned to captain the home side.

Neville Madziva and Victor Nyauchi opened the bowling for the Zimbabweans, but they caused few problems for the visitors’ opening pair of Sandan Weerakkody and Sadheera Samarawickreme, who scored at a rate of about a run a ball, playing crisp strokes that easily pierced the field.

After six rather expensive overs, Mumba came on, only for Weerakkody to strike fours off his first two balls.

But then Mumba struck back with a fine yorker that shattered the batsman’s stumps for a score of 29, the first wicket going down at 43 in the seventh over.

The next over saw Samarawickreme trapped lbw by Nyauchi for 17, and both openers had fallen in quick succession.

The trend was for wickets to fall in pairs.

Lahiru Milantha sparred at a ball from Mumba and was caught at the wicket for 11, while Charith Asalanka, a century-maker in the first-class fixture, was this time out first ball, as a rising delivery lobbed off his glove into the gully.

The Sri Lankans were now 61 for four in the 13th over, three of the wickets to Mumba.

A useful stand followed between Hashan Dumindu and Rumesh Buddika, before at 95 Nathan Waller trapped Dumindu lbw for 18, and four runs later Buddika was bowled by Herbert Chikomba for 17.

At 99 for six in the 22nd over the Sri Lankans were in deep trouble.

But now the Zimbabweans began to suffer from the weak links in their bowling attack, while Anuk Fernando and Sanjaya Chathuranga fought back with determination.

They put on 53 together in 13 overs for the seventh wicket before Waller struck again, bowling Fernando for 35.

This was followed by an even better partnership for the visitors, as Kadun Madushanka joined Chathuranga and they added 71 in 12 overs, a fine scoring rate. At 224 the stand was finally broken due to a mix-up, as both batsmen found themselves at the same end and Kadun Madushanka was run out for a fighting innings of 43 off 40 balls. Chathuranga reached his fifty in the next over, off 62 balls, but on 53 he tried to pull a ball from Nyauchi for a six over square leg, only to be caught on the boundary.

Without a run added Shehan Madushanka drove a catch to extra cover and the innings was over for 230, with 11 balls left unbowled.

Mumba took three fine wickets for only 26 runs, a superb effort, and Waller also bowled well with two for 38. Unfortunately for the Zimbabweans, the rest of their bowling was rather inconsistent, or else the Sri Lankans would have scored far fewer runs in their innings.

Still, with a target of only 230, the Zimbabweans were in with a fine chance of victory.

A crowd was beginning to build up as they started their innings.

Chari opened the batting with Kevin Kasuza against the two Madushankas, but the latter scored only seven before he badly miscued a stroke and lobbed an easy catch into the covers; 10 for one after three overs.

Chari, on seven, was fortunate to survive a sharp high return chance to the bowler, Shehan Madushanka.

Both Sri Lankan seamers bowled with great purpose and run-scoring was not easy, but the batsmen began to look more settled the longer they stayed, and both Chari and Musakanda played some good and bold strokes.

Chari on 23 had another narrow escape, though, as he set off for a very risky single and, sent back, would have been run out had the fielder’s throw hit the stumps.

The team fifty came up in the 12th over for the loss of Kasuza’s wicket, and later Chari’s own 50 off 66 balls.

However, after another fine innings, he departed rather tamely, cutting a ball gently into the hands of gully, having made 52 off 70 balls, with five fours and a six; 104 for two. — Zimcricket.