Zimbabwe notch up historic ODI series win vs Sri Lanka
HAMBANTOTA: Sikandar Raza starred with the bat and ball to help Zimbabwe edge out Sri Lanka by three wickets and clinch a historic series victory in the fifth ODI on Monday.
Taking the series 3-2 in Hambantota, 11th-ranked Zimbabwe registered their maiden series win in Sri Lanka and first overseas triumph in eight years.
Off-spinner Raza claimed three wickets to restrict the hosts to 203-8 after Zimbabwe elected to field. He then anchored a tense chase with an unbeaten 27 as the visitors won with 71 balls to spare.
Zimbabwe opener Hamilton Masakadza top-scored with a fluent 73 before rookie off-spinner Akila Dananjaya struck back with four wickets to rattle the Zimbabwe middle order.
The visitors slipped from 137-1 to 175-7 --- losing six wickets for 38 runs --- but Raza and skipper Graeme Cremer (11 not out) hung on for an unbeaten 29-run stand as the perennial underdogs erupted in celebrations.
“Happy that Sikandar came to the party. It turned around very quickly but happy we pulled it off in the end,” an elated Cremer said following their win.
“This win is very special, fans must be jumping around back home. We knew we’re playing good enough cricket to put them under pressure.”
Earlier Raza, who opened the bowling for the visiting side, returned with impressive figures
of 3-21 at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium.
Raza, man of the match, was complemented by Cremer, who took two wickets with his wily leg-spin, most notably the scalp of Angelo Mathews (24).
Brief scores : Sri Lanka 203-8 in 50 overs (A Gunaratne 59 no, D Gunathilaka 52; S Raza 3-21) lost to Zimbabwe 204-7 in 38.1 overs (H Masakadza 73, S Mire 43; A Dananjaya 4-47) by three wkts.