Chevrons fall short as Sri Lanka seal series

Tinashe Kusema, Zimpapers Sports Hub

HALF-CENTURIES from Sikandar Raza and Ben Curran were not enough to stop Zimbabwe sliding to a five-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka at Harare Sports Club yesterday.

Pathum Nissanka’s composed century guided the visitors to victory and wrapped up a 2–0 series win, following their dramatic success in the first ODI on Friday.

Zimbabwe made two changes for the second match, handing medium pacer Ernest Masuku his international debut and recalling wicketkeeper Clive Madande. Wesley Madhevere and Trevor Gwandu dropped out.

Put in to bat after losing the toss, the Chevrons stuttered to 277 for seven in 50 overs. They started brightly and finished well, but lost momentum in the middle overs and fell about 30 runs short of a truly competitive target.

Ben Curran held the innings together with 79 off 137 balls, while Raza struck an unbeaten 59 from 55 deliveries to add some firepower at the end. But once again the top order faltered.

Brian Bennett (21) and Brendan Taylor (20) both got starts but failed to push on. Bennett, looking comfortable, was bowled by Dushmantha Chameera, while Taylor, having chewed up too many balls, perished trying to scoop Janith Liyanage to short fine leg.

Earlier, Curran shared a 55-run stand with Bennett and a 61-run partnership with Taylor, but those foundations fizzled out. Partnerships that had revived Zimbabwe in the first ODI fell flat this time, as Curran and Sean Williams added only 34 and Raza with Tony Manyonga just 21.

Raza at least continued his strong form, featuring in a 76-run stand with Madande that gave Zimbabwe something to defend. Chameera was the pick of Sri Lanka’s attack with three for 52, while Asitha Fernando chipped in with two for 67.

Sri Lanka’s chase was built around Nissanka’s 122 off 136 balls. He stitched together three decisive partnerships: 78 with Sadeera Samarawickrama (31) for the third wicket, and 90 with skipper Charith Asalanka (71) for the fourth, which broke Zimbabwe’s resistance.

Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans picked up two wickets each, while debutant Masuku claimed his first international scalp when Samarawickrama holed out to Raza at deep midwicket. But chances were scarce and Sri Lanka never looked troubled.
Stand-in skipper Sean Williams admitted Zimbabwe had let the series slip.

“The series could have gone differently. It could have been 1–1,” Williams said. “Today we missed an opportunity to be more aggressive against the spinners in the middle overs. The small chances make a big difference at the end of the day.”
Asalanka, meanwhile, praised his side’s discipline.

“It’s a pleasure to win in Zimbabwe,” the Sri Lanka captain said. “Both teams fought hard, and I just told the team to do the basics right. I wanted to see a big hundred and Pathum did that. Young players are doing a good job. I asked the batters to play with less risk and to run hard.”
The tour now shifts to the T20 format, with the first match scheduled for Wednesday at Harare Sports Club.