Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE’S Chevrons bounced back in style, stunning fancied Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the ongoing T20 Tri-Series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Pakistan yesterday.
The Chevrons had faltered in their opening game against the hosts on Tuesday.
But they were back in it with a near-flawless show, taming the Lions in emphatic fashion.
The Chevrons’ bowlers put in quite a shift in a collective effort, bundling out Sri Lanka for just 95 runs in 20 overs.
Brad Evans was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 3/9.
Skipper Sikandar Raza and Brian Bennett shared a 61-run partnership off 44 balls, setting the stage for Zimbabwe’s 162/8 total.
Bennett top-scored with 49 runs off 42 balls, while Raza contributed 47 runs off 32 balls.
Sri Lanka’s batting unit struggled, with only two batters managing double figures.
Dasun Shanaka top-scored with 34 runs off 25 balls.
However, Justin Sammons needs to be cautioned against reading too much into the victory as once again his batters failed to come to the party.
With all three nations using this series as preparations for the Men’s T20 World Cup, which is just over two months away, more and more batters should be putting their hands up for selection with results on the pitch.
Once again it was the same two batters — Raza and the in-form Bennett — who brought some respectability to Zimbabwe’s 162 for eight total after Sri Lanka’s stand-in skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss.
Both skippers came into the toss with contrasting approaches, with Shanaka — standing in for Charith Asalanka, who has returned home due to illness — firmly of the belief that there would be a lot of dew later in the evening and, as such, chasing would be more ideal.
Raza then decided that the best course of action was to put as many runs as possible as the pitch looked “much more like” a traditional Rawalpindi surface.
The Zimbabwe talisman, like he has done on so many occasions, led from the front alongside Bennett, as the pair finished just shy of what would have been valiant and well-deserved half-centuries.
The two shared a 61-run off 44 balls third-wicket stand that formed the backbone of Zimbabwe’s innings on their way to 162 for eight in their allotted 20 overs.
Bennett top-scored for Zimbabwe with 49 runs off 42 balls, playing a part in two crucial partnerships with fellow opener Tadiwanashe Marumani and Raza.
Raza also dominated in two partnerships of his own, on his way to 47 runs off 32 balls.
The first was the third-wicket stand with Bennett, and then another 23 runs off 18 balls for the fourth wicket along-side Ryan Burl.
However, Raza and Bennett were the chief aggressors of their partnerships with Marumani only contributing 10 runs off six balls during the opening stand while Burl chipped in 18 runs off 11 balls for his fourth-wicket partnership with Raza.
There was hardly anything to write home about from the rest of the Zimbabwe batters as Brendan Taylor (11), Tony Manyonga (0) and Tashinga Musekiwa (11) all failed to make a lasting impression on the scoreboard.
Given that Zimbabwe collapsed from putting up 91 runs for one to post a below-par total of 147 runs for eight during their five-wicket loss to hosts Pakistan, Sammons and batting coach Dion Ebrahim have a lot of work on their hands for the rest of the series and the lead-up to the T20 World Cup next year.
Lucky for the Zimbabwe technical department, the Chevrons bowling unit came to their rescue yesterday.
They put in a collective effort to bundle out Sri Lanka for just 95 runs during their allotted 20 overs.
Evans was the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers finishing with three wickets for just nine runs while Richard Ngarava chipped in with two wickets for 15 runs.
Tinotenda Maposa, Graeme Cremer, Raza and Burl all claimed a wicket each.
Only two Sri Lanka batters managed to post double-figures during the Asian nation’s chase as skipper Shanaka top-scored with 34 runs off 25 balls while Bhanuka Rajapaksa posted 11 runs off 18 balls.
Run were hard to come by as Shanaka went at it alone, sharing a fifth-wicket stand with Kamindu Mendis that went for 23 runs off 20 balls and fourth with Wanindu Hasaranga that saw them chip in 23 runs off 17 balls.
Raza was duly named Player-of-the-Match after his initiative to take the bull by the horns and lead from the front.
He was happy to take the responsibility.
“As a captain you have to lead from the front,” he said, after the match.
“Once you see the team captain do all the right things, you set an example.
“Once I can have good work ethics, I feel everyone will follow. You want to be there when the chips are down and be prepared to do the dirty work for the team.
“If I’m trying, I feel my team is going to try too,” he said.
His opposite number, Shanaka, took the defeat on the chin.
“I think the intent was not there from the beginning,” said Shanaka.
“Credit to Zimbabwe for being much better.
“We cannot accept this batting performance with the players and experience we have got.
“Hopefully, we can turn this around quickly in the next game,” he said.
