The Chevrons pulled off an impressive victory in the second ODI of their three-match series versus Sri Lanka on January 18, winning by 22 runs in a high-scoring fixture in Pallekele. The visitors posted 302/8 in the first half before Sri Lanka responded with 280/9 in the second half. But that wasn’t enough for the hosts to secure a win.
Zimbabwean batting held its head high once again, with skipper Craig Ervine leading his troops from the front via a brilliant 91 off 98 balls.
Zimbabwean captain Craig Ervine scored 91 runs against Sri Lanka today. The last time a captain scored exactly 91 runs in an ODI against Sri Lanka was MS Dhoni's iconic knock in the ICC World Cup Final 2011.#SLvZIM
— Rhitankar Bandyopadhyay (@rhitankar8616) January 18, 2022
He was helped at the task by crucial knocks from opener Regis Chakabva (47), last match’s centurion Sean Williams (48) and another middle-order stalwart Sikandar Raza (56).
At one point, Zimbabwe looked like taking their score in excess of 320-330. But they were held back by fine spells from Jeffrey Vandersay (3/51) and Maheesh Theekshana (1/49). Sri Lanka used as many as eight bowlers to make up their 50 overs but lacked enough depth to truly pile on the pressure on Zimbabwe and keep them below 280.
This is where Zimbabwe had a different outing from the first game, where their attack couldn’t restrict the hosts. Unlike the opening fixture, the visitors had as many as four of their bowlers rising to the occasion. While Tendai Chatara (3/52) and Blessing Muzarabani (3/56) took three wickets apiece, Richard Ngarava (1/41) and Wellington Masakadza (0/34) bowled miserly spells to make the Lankans feel the heat of the asking rate.
Zimbabwe reduced the opposition to 31/3, which later became 63/4. The home side did post a recovery, though, thanks to captain Dasun Shanaka’s fantastic hundred in the face of adversity. The skipper scored 102 off 94 balls when the next highest score for the innings was 57 from Kamindu Mendis.
However, lack of collective batting effort against a resurgent Zimbabwean bowling unit meant that Sri Lanka had to settle with a defeat, which has further dented their hopes of direct World Cup qualification from the ongoing Super League. Zimbabwe earned 10 vital points from their win.
Brief scores
Zimbabwe 302/8 in 50 overs (Ervine 91, Raza 56; Vandersay 3/51) beat Sri Lanka 280/9 in 50 overs (Shanaka 102, Mendis 57; Chatara 3/52) by 22 runs
