ZIM vs SL

This has been a pretty entertaining start to the T20I series. Sri Lanka find a way to win and Zimbabwe will feel hard done. This is Dwaipayan Mukherjee, signing off alongside Bidipto Datta. We will see you soon! 

Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka captain): "I am really happy about the performance! We were a little but under the pump when the wickets kept falling, the Zimbabwe bowlers have to be credited for that. But then, Kamindu Mendis batted exceedingly well! Always good to have Kusal Mendis scoring runs, it helps us immensely. We were unfortunate to miss out on Dushmantha Chameera last year, but he is out X-factor bowler." 

Kamindu Mendis : "We had seen quick wickets fall at that time, the idea was to get 5-6 balls and then targeting at finishing the match. I had to hit boundaries as early as I could, I wanted to keep calm and express myself. The surface was great, Zimbabwe batted very and so did we at the start which helped us at the end."

Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe captain): "I thought we were in the game for 19 overs, it was just one over that went for quite a few. But these are the experiences that young Tino (Tinotenda Maposa) and the others have to take to get better. It was a good wicket to bat on, we got the runs. Bowling too was decent. Once we start winning, things will improve. We are very much there now." 

4:55 PM local time (8:25 PM IST): Sri Lanka (177 for 6 from 19.1 overs) defeat Zimbabwe (175 for 7) by 4 wickets

Pathum Nissanka - 55 (32) | Richard Ngarava - 2/20
Kamindu Mendis - 41*(16) | Sikandar Raza - 1/26

This chase was a story of 3 parts! The first one lived till the first wicket fell and then the 2nd part of the story is something that the Sri Lankan fans would love to forget. The 3rd part was the rescue act. The last time when Sri Lanka successfully chased down more than 175 in a T20I was against Afghanistan at the Asia Cup in UAE back in September 2022. These were relatively unfamiliar territory for the Asian side. 

Disciplined start by Ngarava at the start of the chase but Nissanka enjoyed his fair share of fortune with an edge evading the keeper after an excellent outing in the ODIs. The opener put away Muzarabani for 3 consecutive boundaries in the 2nd over of the chase that leaked 19 runs. When Maposa had returned to replace Muzarabani in the 4th over, the openers continued their brutal assault - racing to 57 for no loss in the first 5 overs, after the opening over only went for a couple of runs. 

Nissanka was on the rampage, bringing the required run rate to below 8 runs per over with 15 overs to go. 
Ngarava and Muzarabani have picked up 100 wickets at an average of 17 in T20Is since 2023, whereas in the same time period all other Zimbabwe pacers have only accounted for 51 wickets at a much higher average. The opening stand were adept in running between the wickets as they established their path to a commanding position. 

The first wicket fell in the first ball of the 11th over to bring an end to the 96 run opening stand. Nissanka departed for an electrifying 55. Sri Lanka did not find any boundaries and that resulted in pressure for the Asian side. Kusal Perera wanted to force the pace of the innings when Richard Ngarava returned for his 2nd spell in the 13th over but a brilliant catch by Brian Bennett lead to the batter's downfall. Ngarava was supported further with some phenomenal catching from his colleagues as Mendis fell pray to another spectacular catching effort from Maposa. 

Sri Lanka went from 96 for no loss at the halfway mark to 106 for 4 after 13.1 overs as Sikandar Raza dismissed his counterpart Charith Asalanka - further pushing back Sri Lanka in what was a significant middle order collapse. For 8 overs between the 8th and 15th over, Sri Lanka did not find the boundary ropes - which is an incredible statistic given how fast paced this format is - and also the biggest reason behind how Sri Lanka went behind in the game after initially getting into a comfortable position. Muzarabani came back and effected the 5th wicket of the chase. Shanaka was forced to depart from the scene, thanks to a tag team catch. 

The equation went from 58 runs needed from 5 overs to 8 runs needed from 2 overs as Maposa's final over went for 26 runs with Kamindu Mendis pulling off the saviour's role as the match swung one way to the other like a pendulum. At the end, Sri Lanka survived the scare from the hosts and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

19.1 Blessing Muzarabani to Dushan Hemantha, THAT WILL DO IT! SRI LANKA WIN IT WITH FIVE BALLS TO SPARE! Full and just outside off. Hemantha gave himself a bit of room, got on to the front foot and drove it firmly through the covers. The ball found its way through the gap and went away for a boundary! 

18.6 Richard Ngarava to Dushan Hemantha, back of a length on leg-stump. It was a pace-off delivery. The pull shot on the back foot got gloved down to the ground near the batter's feet. But, they managed to run through for a quick single! 

18.5 Richard Ngarava to Dushan Hemantha, short over leg-stump. Hemantha went for the hook shot on the back foot but failed to connect. No run. 

18.4 Richard Ngarava to Kamindu Mendis, full on off-stump. Kamindu gets in line and works it over the in-field to wide long-on for a single only! 

18.3 Richard Ngarava to Dushan Hemantha, really full around off-stump. Hemantha squeezes it out to short cover and ran. Kamindu obliged and they made the single in the end. But, Raza should have done better there! 

18.2 Richard Ngarava to Dushan Hemantha, short and going across the right-hander. The cut shot on the backfoot gets missed on the angle. Dot ball. 

18.1 Richard Ngarava to Dushan Hemantha, over the wicket, short and slow around off-stump. Pulled away off the back foot to wide long-on for a brace here. 

17.6 Tinotenda Maposa to Kamindu Mendis, SIX MORE! Full toss on the pads. Kamindu flicks it away off the middle of the bat with some force. The pace of the ball was good enough to make it carry all the way, over deep backward square-leg for a maximum! 

17.5 Tinotenda Maposa to Dushan Hemantha, full and angling in on the pads. Flicked away off the toes to long-leg for a single to rotate strike.