Sri Lanka staged a dramatic recovery to chase down 176, finishing at 177 for 6 to beat Zimbabwe, who posted 175 for 7, by four wickets. Pathum Nissanka scored 55, while Kamindu Mendis remained unbeaten on 41, and Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava picked up 2 for 19.
Kamindu’s Explosive Finish Seals the Victory
Sri Lanka’s chase looked in jeopardy as they slipped from 96 for 0 to 125 for 5, needing 46 runs from the last four overs. Kamindu Mendis, coming in at No. 6, turned the game around with a sensational 41 not out off 16 balls, smashing four sixes and a four. Most of his shots came behind square on the leg side as Zimbabwe’s bowlers faltered under pressure.
“𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂 𝑺𝒓𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍.
Sri Lanka ultimately reached the target with five balls to spare and four wickets in hand, thanks to Kamindu’s late assault and Nissanka’s solid foundation.
Nissanka and Middle-Order Wobble
Pathum Nissanka anchored the innings with his third half-century of the tour, scoring 55 off 32 balls and setting the platform for the chase. However, Sri Lanka went through a tense phase, losing six wickets for 46 runs in seven overs, which made the finish nervy. The opening partnership of 96 between Kusal Mendis and Nissanka at more than nine runs per over provided the early cushion.
Zimbabwe had relied heavily on Brian Bennett, whose 81 off 57 balls kept them competitive. He powered through the powerplay, scoring 32 off 17 initially, and built key partnerships with Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl before Dushmantha Chameera dismissed him.
“𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒁𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒘𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒂, 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔,” 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒓𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂’𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉.
Chameera Shines With the Ball
Dushmantha Chameera was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, finishing with 3 for 30. He impressed both in the powerplay and the death overs, taking wickets with precise yorkers and clever variations, reading the batters’ intentions perfectly.
Zimbabwe’s Tinotenda Maposa’s 18th over proved costly, conceding 26 runs, effectively handing the match to Sri Lanka. Kamindu capitalized on Maposa’s no-balls and full tosses, clearing the ropes multiple times to finish the match in style.
