ZIM vs SL, Review | Nissanka century steals the show as Lankans chase down total with three balls to spare

‌The Lankans won the toss and elected to field first on a dry and low surface at the Harare Sports Club, but the Zimbabwe openers Brian Bennet and Ben Curran started the innings well with some sensible cricket at the start. The openers were looking good at the crease until Bennet was cleaned up by Dushmantha Chameera in the 10th over. Despite the wicket, the hosts were still in a strong position after the power play, with the score reading 55/1. Even after losing his opening partner at the other end, Curran continued the run flow with a bit of support from Brendan Taylor at the other end. The two batters had added 61 runs for the second wicket before Taylor was dismissed by Janith Liyanage in the 24th over while attempting a scoop and was caught at short fine leg. While this wicket came as a sigh of relief for the Lions, the Chevrons were still in a solid position at 118/2 after 25 overs. It seemed like a big score was on the cards with Curran set at the crease and skipper Sean Williams also starting to play his shots. However, the table suddenly turned in favor of the Lankans as Asitha Fernando managed to get both set batters out in the 32nd over, with Curran giving a simple catch to mid-wicket and Williams' stumps being uprooted on the sixth delivery. The situation got worse as Tony Munyonga was also dismissed in the 38th over by Dilshan Madhushka, which resulted in the home team losing half their side. While there were still a few great shots by Sikandar Raza towards the end of the second powerplay, they were still in a tricky position at 194/5 after 40 overs. The Island nation seemed to be in control of the game until Sikandar Raza, with his unbeaten half-century and a crucial cameo by Clive Madande, made sure 83 runs were scored in the last 60 balls, which took them took them to a competitive score of 277/7 at the end of 50 overs. 

The approach from the visitors was cautious in the first five overs as they managed to score only 18 runs. However the duo of Pathum Nissanka and Nuwanidu Fernando made up for the slow start in the last few overs of the powerplay and took the score to 45/0 after 10 overs. Though it was a decent start to the chase by the visitors, the hosts managed to get back in the game with Brad Evans knocking over Fernando’s stumps in the 11th over and dismissing Kusal Mendis with a short delivery in the 14th. Despite the couple of breakthroughs, Nissanka along with Sadeera Samarawickrama steadily batted through the tough period where the spinners were getting a bit of grip off the surface. Both batters were set at the crease and put the Island nation in a commanding position at 122/2 at the halfway stage. After the first half runs started to come at a brisk space until the partnership of 78 was finally broken by debutante Ernest masuku in the 31st over as Samarwickrama gave a simple catch to mid-wicket. However the wicket did not cause many problems as Nissanka kept runs flowing and was supported by skipper Charith Asalanka at the other end. As the partnership between the two began to grow, the Lankans were in a comfortable position at the end of 40 overs with the score at 211/3 and needed only 67 off the last 10. With both batters looking set at the crease the game seemed to be in the Lions grasp until Richard Nagarava came into the attack and got the big scalp of the Lankan opener. As soon as Nissanka was dismissed after an incredible knock of 122 off 136 deliveries the game started to get tighter. However Charith Asalanka and Janith Liyanage played some big shots and made sure the equation was down to 12 off 12. Though the Lions skipper threw away his wicket after a great innings of 71 off 60, Kamindu Mendis and Liyanage made sure the target was chased down with three balls to spare and the team won the game by five wickets to claim the two-match series. 

Pathum Nissanka was named the player of the match for his incredible century on a dry and sticky surface at Harare.