Zimbabwe’s Tour of Sri Lanka (2nd T20)
A mediocre final over bowled by Angelo Mathews virtually handed Zimbabwe a four wicket win on a platter, when the 2nd T20 International was contested at the Kettarama Cricket Stadium yesterday.
With this win Zimbabwe levelled the 3 match series at one win a piece with the series decider to be contested on Wednesday.
At one stage, Zimbabwe were tottering at 132 for 5 wickets, still needing 42 runs for victory off 18 deliveries.
The 18th over bowled by Dushmantha Chameera went for 12 runs, whilst the Zimbabwean batters number 7 Luke Jongwe and number 8 Clive Madande took 10 runs off the penultimate over bowled by Dilshan Madushanka.
Sri Lankan skipper Wanindu Hasaranga then turned to Angelo Mathews to bowl the final over with the visitors still needing 20 runs for victory.
To the utter dismay of the Sri Lankan fans in the stadium, Mathews started off with a no ball that was carted by Longwe for a six. The next delivery a free hit was then dispatched over extra cover for four before Longwe freed his arms and thumped the next delivery, a slower ball straight down the ground for another six. Longwe then took a single in the next delivery leaving his partner Madande to finish off the game. Mandande who had hit a six earlier, then gleefully dispatched Mathews’ delivered length ball over mid wicket to give the visitors a handsome win.
Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe’s decision to field paid off, as they restricted Sri Lanka to a challenging but attainable score of 173 for 6. Charith Asalanka’s impressive 69 and Angelo Mathews’ resilient unbeaten 66* played pivotal roles in rescuing the hosts from early trouble at 27 for 4.
Despite Blessing Muzarabani and Luke Jongwe picking up two wickets each for Zimbabwe, the Lankan duo’s partnership of 118 for the fifth wicket ensured a strong finish for the hosts.
On most days, a total of 173 at the Premadasa would be more than enough to secure victory, but Craig Ervine and Brian Bennett had other ideas.
The pair stitched together a crucial 74 run partnership for the second wicket, laying a solid foundation for Zimbabwe’s famous win.
Ervine continued to pummel the Sri Lankan bowlers after the dismissal of Bennet, going on to contribute 70 invaluable runs. Unfortunately for Ervine, he was dismissed at the end of the seventeenth over, with Zimbabwe still 43 runs short of the target.
Sri Lanka did all they could to keep Zimbabwe in check, restricting the visitors to a steep 20 runs to get in the last over.
Sadly, it was not meant to be, as Luke Jongwe and Clive Mandande ended the match by smashing a tired Angelo Mathews for 24 runs in the last over, winning the game with a ball to spare.
Jongwe was rightfully adjudicated as the Player of the Match for his outstanding 25 runs made off 12 balls to go with the 2 wickets he captured during Sri Lanka’s innings.
Chief Scores:
Sri Lanka – 173 for 6 in 20 overs (Charith Asalanka 69, Angelo Mathews 66*, Sadeera Samarawickrama 16, Luke Jongwe 2 for 32, Blessing Muzarabani 2 for 36, Wellington Masakadza 1 for 25)
Zimbabwe 178 for 6 in 19.5 overs (Craig Ervine 70, Luke Jongwe 25*, Brian Bennet 25, Maheesh Theekshana 2 for 25, Dushmantha Chameera 2 for 30, Dilshan Madushanka 1 for 24)
