Zimbabwe 84 for 5 (Musekiwa 21, Burl 20, Chameera 3-19) beat Sri Lanka 80 (Mishara 20, Raza 3-11, Evans 3-15, Muzarabani 2-14) by 5 wickets**
Sri Lanka endured a batting nightmare in the second T20I, folding for just 80 runs – their second-lowest total in the format. Zimbabwe’s bowlers, led by Sikandar Raza, Brad Evans, and Blessing Muzarabani, took charge and restricted the visitors to a modest score before comfortably chasing it down in the 15th over.
Tashinga Musekiwa’s composed 21 not out off 12 balls ensured Zimbabwe crossed the finish line with ease, squaring the three-match series.
Powerplay Dominance by Evans and Muzarabani
Zimbabwe made early inroads with the new ball, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 37 for 4 in the powerplay. Muzarabani was especially sharp, conceding just 10 runs from two overs and dismissing Kusal Mendis and Nuwanidu Fernando.
Evans, meanwhile, claimed the big wicket of Pathum Nissanka and rattled Kamil Mishara’s stumps with a yorker. He later returned to dismiss Maheesh Theekshana, finishing with 3 for 15.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓-𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 37 𝒇𝒐𝒓 4,” 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝑺𝒓𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅.
Raza Spins a Web in the Middle Overs
With Sri Lanka already on the back foot, Sikandar Raza applied the finishing touches. Bowling tight lines, he gave away no boundaries in his spell, claiming 3 for 11. His dismissals of Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka, and Chameera sealed Sri Lanka’s collapse.
“𝑹𝒂𝒛𝒂’𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝑺𝒓𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Chameera Fights Back but Zimbabwe Hold Firm
Despite the low target, Dushmantha Chameera tried to give Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope with his fiery spell, dismissing Marumani, Williams, and Raza. However, dropped catches hurt Sri Lanka’s chances, and Musekiwa’s late cameo guided Zimbabwe to a five-wicket victory.
With this result, the series is now evenly poised heading into the decider.
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