Tail rescues Sri Lanka in 2nd ODI as they take 1-0 lead over Zimbabwe
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Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by two wickets in the thrilling second ODI on Monday, January to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. After opting to bat first, Zimbabwe were bundled out for 208 in 44.4 overs with captain Craig Ervine top-scoring with 82 (102). In reply, Sri Lanka chased down the target in 49 overs courtesy of an unbeaten 39-run stand between tailenders Dushmantha Chameera (18* off 25) and Jeffrey Vandersay (19* off 18).
Sri Lanka’s chase didn’t get off to a good start as openers Avishka Fernando (4 off 5) and Kusal Mendis (17 off 28) departed cheaply falling prey to Richard Ngarava. The left-arm seamer further got rid of Sadeera Samarawickrama (4 off 3), and Charith Asalanka (0 off 7) to leave Sri Lanka in all sorts of trouble at 53/4.
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With wickets falling from one end, Janith Liyanage held the other and gradually built on his innings. However, he didn’t get much support with Sahan Arachchige (21 off 39) and Dasun Shanaka (7 off 13) departing cheaply. Liyanage fell short of a well-deserved hundred getting dismissed on 95 (127) with Sri Lanka still needing 39 runs to win.
Tailenders Dushmantha Chameera (18* off 25) and Jeffrey Vandersay (19* off 18) turned out to be the knight in shining armour for their side helping them register a thrilling win by two wickets. Nagarava was the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe as he scalped 5/32 in ten overs.
Maheesh Theekshana picked 4-fer for Sri Lanka
Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe lost their opener Tinashe Kamunhukamwe (0 off 1) in the first over itself before Joylord Gumbie (30 off 37) and captain Craig Ervine stabilized the innings with a 60-run stand for the second wicket. Contributions from Milton Shumba (26 off 45) and Ryan Burl (31 off 37) took Zimbabwe to 208 in 44.4 overs. Maheesh Theekshana starred with the ball for Sri Lanka picking 4/31 in 9.5 overs.
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Meanwhile, X was abuzz with reactions on Sri Lanka’s thrilling victory. Here are some of the posts:
Absolute thriller of a match !! The rain , the pressure but Srilankan held the nerve and won by 2 wickets. The partnership for the 9th wicket between Chameera and Vandersay, unbeaten 37 , did the job for Srilanka .#SLvZIM
— Prashant🏏 (@Invincible_2494) January 8, 2024
Chameera&vandersey 40 ball 39 run partnership take the match for SriLanka #SLvZim
— Nishan Thaya (@NishanThaya) January 8, 2024
Unbeaten 39 run partnership between Vandersay and Chameera completes the first ODI victory for Sri Lanka in 2024. Brilliant innings by the newcomer, Liyanage as well.#SLvZIM
— Rukhshan (@rukhshan) January 8, 2024
Chameera hits the winning 4
Sri Lanka will feel like getting out of Jail, a 39 run partnership for 8th wicket between Chameera and Wandersay gets Sri Lanka over the one after they were 172-8
Zimbabwe tried too hard but these two spoiled their party#SLvZIM pic.twitter.com/sZyUWa20ET— Abhijeet ♞ (@TheYorkerBall) January 8, 2024
What a come back by Sri Lanka to beat Zimbabwe, 9th wicket partnership rocking. #SLvZIM
— Armin (@dharmendayal) January 8, 2024
What a nail-biter! Sri Lanka clinches victory by 2 wickets in a thrilling encounter. Hats off to the tail-enders for their crucial cameos and Janith Liyanage’s stellar 95 that guided us to triumph! 🏏🔥 #SLvZIM pic.twitter.com/z7UOyKj9hn
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) January 8, 2024
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