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Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, 2nd Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Zimbabwe sealed a thrilling 12-run win.
Zimbabwe sealed a thrilling 12-run win. © AFP

That's it from us folks! Hope you enjoyed the coverage and Zimbabwe's win. Until next time then ...

Here's what the players had to say:

Raza, Man of the Match: Started the bowling poorly. I think the comeback showed a lot of character especially against the way Thisara batted; if he carried on for another two overs, he could've finished off the game. We never gave up though, and we did get his wicket in the end. The wicket was tacky in the morning but flattened out, but the partnership with Brendan and a few others helped put an above-par total on the board. Every catch is a pressure catch and we showed a lot of character. We never thought the game was out of our hands. We knew one wicket would bring another and we believed we could win.

Cremer: Couldn't have hoped for anything better with the bat. Hamilton(Masakadza) started off well. Sikanadar came to the party with the bat and ball as well. Shows the character of the team to come back from a loss and win a big game like this. We thought 260 would be a par score. But we got away in the end with 290. We still had to bowl well because we know the SL batsmen are quality players. Chatara and Muazarabani struggled last game and came back well today. We play SL again after this, and we'll take it one game at a time from hereon.

Mathews: We were scrappy from the outset and gave too many runs in the first ten overs. They captialised with wickets in hand in the last ten overs. We had wickets in hand, and the run-rate was good. But we lost wickets regularly and that set us back. Thisara was fantastic with bat and ball. Kusal was fantastic too but the others failed to support them to finish it off. Asela was great and so were the Pereras, so there are a few positives we can take from this encounter and try to perform better in the next one against Bangladesh.








01. Sharjah - 231 02. Sydney - 154 03. Melbourne - 148 04. Harare - 136 05. Premadasa - 124 06. Mirpur - 100* 17. SSC - 60 20. Damulla - 51

BIG WICKET: Gunaratne gets Masakadza. Full and outside off. Slapped striaght to mid-off. He falls for 73 off 83. Sri Lanka are right back in the game with Zimbabwe 142 for 3.

TAYLOR SURVIVES: Tries the reverse sweep and gets hit on the pad. Given out lbw but he reviewed it straight away. Replays show he had hit that. Zimbabwe 103 for 2.

50 UP: Masakadza gets to his half-century. He gets there off 58 deliveries and has looked very assured at the crease. Needs to make it count especially with the pitch not offering much. Zimbabwe need a big score. 92 for 2 after 19 overs

ERVINE FALLS: Short ball and outside off. He stands tall and wanted to punch that one through cover. Gets a thick outside edge and is caught at wide first slip. Lakmal gets the wicket to help Sri Lanka claw their way back in the game.

Zimbabwe 85 for 2.

FIRST WICKET: Perera has given Sri Lanka the breakthrough. Short ball and Mire looks to pull it but doesn't connect well. Caught at square leg. Zimbabwe 75 for 1.

END OF FIRST POWERPLAY: Sri Lanka still struggling for a breakthrough. The Zimbabwe openers look more assured now and with the ball not doing much, Sri Lankan bowling is again looking toothless.

Zimbabwe 64 for no loss after ten overs.

FIVE OVERS DONE: Sri Lanka have asked plenty of questions but haven't been able to pick up wickets. Mire hasn't looked at ease but still has got the runs. Zimbabwe 30 for no loss after five overs.

Alright then folks! Masakadza and Mire out to open, Sri Lanka players also out there and we are all set for this contest to begin.

Toss:

Sri Lanka have won the toss and elected to bowl.

Teams:

Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Peter Moor, Brendan Taylor(w), Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza, Malcolm Waller, Graeme Cremer(c), Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Upul Tharanga, Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal(w), Angelo Mathews(c), Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Thisara Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Wanidu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera

Build up:

In 2017, Sri Lanka lost 23 of the 29 ODIs that they played. One of their lowest points then came when they lost a home series to Zimbabwe. Faced with a point of no-return, Sri Lanka were forced to make some big changes. In came Chandika Hathurasingha as head coach, who in turn persuaded Angelo Mathews to take up captaincy once again.

This duo's first assignment is the tri-series in Bangladesh and first-up against them will be Zimbabwe. The undercurrents of their loss last year will be unmissable but Sri Lanka will be looking to make a statement first-up with this new outlook.

Zimbabwe come into the game having lost their first against Bangladesh quite comprehensively. There they fell away against Shakib's left-arm spin early in the innings and failed to recover. Sri Lanka are likely to pose similar challenges or more having seen Zimbabwe's weaknesses already.

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