Player of the Match
Player of the Match

What a conclusion to Mirpur's 100th ODI. An absolute thriller. Both teams fought until the end and Zimbabwe's persistent belief helped them come out on top. If you're just tuning in and would like to know what happened, Mohammad Isam's report should be up on the site soon. From here, this is all we have. Thanks for joining us.

Time for presentations.

"We were scrappy from the outset, gave away too many runs in the first 10 overs," says Angelo Mathews. "They had the wickets in the last 10 overs to capitalise on it. The wicket settled a little bit after the dew came in, but we also had wickets in hand. The run rate was pretty good, but we just kept losing wickets. Thisara was fantastic with bat and ball and Kusal batted brilliantly. Unfortunately the others couldn't convert that. Lots of positives. We can certainly improve and come back harder next time."

"We could not have hoped for anything better with the bat," says Graeme Cremer. "Sikandar came good with bat and ball.Shows the character of the team to bounce back after the beating in the last game. At one point, we thought 260 would be a par score. We know the quality Sri Lanka have in their batting so credit to our bowlers as well. We now play Sri Lanka again in the next game. It will be interesting to see how Sri Lanka v Bangladesh goes."

Sikandar Raza is Man of the Match. "I did plenty wrong," he says. "The way I started with the ball was exactly what the team didn't want. But the way we bounced back showed our character. I think Solo did exactly what we asked for. We trust Solo with decision-making and he's one of the best hitters of the ball. The partnership with Brendan, and in the end with PJ Moor came in handy. We showed a lot of character. We always knew one wicket would bring another. We always wanted that wicket of Thisara and we did get that."

7.00pm What a game we've had here in Mirpur. These are conditions that Sri Lanka will feel at home in. But Zimbabwe have played most of their cricket in similar slow, low pitches in Harare and Bulawayo, so under-estimate them at your peril.

By no means were Sri Lanka complacent, but Zimbabwe were just a tad better in the clutch moments of the game. Defending 290, Sri Lanka were in the game for the majority, down the moment the ball lobbed to point off Chameera. Sri Lanka have not had a great 12 months, and it has gotten worse in January. But they'll be back. Thisara Perera played a fine hand, and so did Kusal Perera. But Sri Lanka just lost too many wickets in that middle period, and it cost them eventually. Zimbabwe were disciplined through that period, and even though they lost their lines slightly towards the end, they held their nerve.

48.1
W
Chatara to Chameera, OUT, and Zimbabwe take the game! A slower short delivery outside off, Chameera is completely deceived by the lack of pace, meets the ball too early and the ball lobs to point. Sensational game goes to Cremer and Zimbabwe. It was a clever change in pace, with the batsmen expecting the ball full and straight, but it was an offcutter that flummoxed Chameera, forcing him to make contact much earlier than he expected. Sri Lanka's dismal ODI record in the last few months continues.

PVD Chameera c sub (B Mavuta) b Chatara 1 (4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 25.00

13 off 12. Pace.

END OF OVER:
48 | 2 Runs | SL: 278/9 (13 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 5.79, RRR: 6.50)

  • Dushmantha Chameera1 (3b)
  • Suranga Lakmal5 (9b)
  • Graeme Cremer10-0-62-2
  • Tendai Chatara8-0-33-3
47.6
1
Cremer to Chameera, 1 run, 87 kph, full on middle and leg, driven to long-on

A slip in place.

47.5
0
Cremer to Chameera, no run, the googly. Cremer is ensuring the ball isn't full, so that batsmen can't get underneath that. On off, defended

14 off 14. Cremer takes his time.

47.4
1
Cremer to Lakmal, 1 run, 82 kph, a low full toss down leg, worked away to long-on. 14 required.
47.3
0
Cremer to Lakmal, no run, short and wide outside off, the googly, pulled back to the bowler. Pressure
47.2
0
Cremer to Lakmal, no run, flat and wide outside off, Cremer very cleverly shortens the length, dabbed, or at least tries to dab the ball, misses
47.1
0
Cremer to Lakmal, no run, thick outside edge off Cremer, full delivery outside off, the legbreak

15 off 18. Zimbabwe one ball away, Sri Lanka three boundaries away. A thriller.

END OF OVER:
47 | 9 Runs 1 Wkt | SL: 276/9 (15 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 5.87, RRR: 5.00)

  • Dushmantha Chameera0 (1b)
  • Suranga Lakmal4 (5b)
  • Tendai Chatara8-0-33-3
  • Kyle Jarvis8-0-56-2
46.6
0
Chatara to Chameera, no run, 122 kph, a slower delivery outside off, driven to cover with the full face

Chameera.

46.5
1
Chatara to Lakmal, 1 run, full delivery outside off, driven to long-on

16 off 20. One wicket in hand. Lakmal has the strike.

46.4
W
Chatara to NLTC Perera, OUT, Thisara has holed out to deep midwicket! A massive moment in the game. A low full toss around off, Thisara clears his front leg and looks to heave the ball, but he toe-ends it away, without great timing. The ball is below the waist. Just met the ball a tad early.

NLTC Perera c Sikandar Raza b Chatara 64 (37b 5x4 3x6) SR: 172.97

46.3
1
Chatara to Lakmal, 1 run, a shortish delivery outside off, a thick outside edge down to third man. What was that? Gets away with it.
46.2
1
Chatara to NLTC Perera, 1 run, full on leg, pushed to long-on
46.1
6
Chatara to NLTC Perera, SIX, whee, in the wheelhouse and outta here. A slower ball on middle and leg, Thisara backs away and slogs the ball over midwicket. What power. A match-winning hit?

24 off 24. Big over coming up.

END OF OVER:
46 | 6 Runs | SL: 267/8 (24 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 5.80, RRR: 6.00)

  • Suranga Lakmal2 (3b)
  • Thisara Perera57 (34b)
  • Kyle Jarvis8-0-56-2
  • Tendai Chatara7-0-24-2
45.6
0
Jarvis to Lakmal, no run, a shortish slower delivery outside off, carved to point.
45.5
1
Jarvis to NLTC Perera, 1 run, a short slower delivery. Jarvis looking to elicit a pull, swatted to deep midwicket
45.4
1
Jarvis to Lakmal, 1 run, short delivery outside off, comes back in, dabbed to gully
45.3
1
Jarvis to NLTC Perera, 1 run, short delivery outside off, Thisara slaps the ball to mid-off for a run. Looking to go over mid-off
45.2
2
Jarvis to NLTC Perera, 2 runs, a short slower delivery on middle, worked away with soft hands to deep midwicket. A bad throw to the keeper

Thisara's wicket changes things. If he stays for three overs, this game should be done.

45.1
1
Jarvis to Lakmal, 1 run, full delivery outside off, 126 kph, inside-edged to fine leg. Just one

Lakmal now. Thisara will have to score most of the remaining runs. Jarvis is back, he'll look to attack the stumps, open lbw and bowled.

END OF OVER:
45 | 6 Runs 1 Wkt | SL: 261/8 (30 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 5.80, RRR: 6.00)

  • Thisara Perera53 (31b)
  • Tendai Chatara7-0-24-2
  • Blessing Muzarabani9-0-47-1
44.6
W
Chatara to Dananjaya, OUT, juggled but taken at cover. A slower delivery outside off, the ball stops on Dananjaya, as he looks to drive over the infield. The ball lobs away towards cover, who backtracks and keeps his eyes on the ball. The ball pops out of Cremer's hands, but he takes the parry. But has he overstepped? Yikes, nothing behind the line, according to me. A no-ball for me. But he's been given. Hmm. Interesting.

A Dananjaya c Cremer b Chatara 8 (19b 0x4 0x6) SR: 42.10

44.6
1w
Chatara to Dananjaya, 1 wide, a short slower ball drifts down leg, another free run. Can't keep erring
44.5
1
Chatara to NLTC Perera, 1 run, shortish around off, 119 kph, swatted away to deep midwicket
44.4
1
Chatara to Dananjaya, 1 run, short and wide, slapped away to the sweeper cover for one
44.3
0
Chatara to Dananjaya, no run, a slower delivery, wide, but inside the tramline, beats Dananjaya's wild swing

Arsalan: "If Hasaranga is only required to bowl 3 overs in a match, can someone please explain why he is included ahead of Gunathilaka, who is a much more capable batsman and can easily bowl 5-6 overs in a match. Also Chandi was very unlike his usual slow self, but I still fail to understand how he features ahead of an inform Dickwella."

Sri Lanka 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st46WU TharangaMDKJ Perera
2nd1MDKJ PereraBKG Mendis
3rd85AD MathewsMDKJ Perera
4th25AD MathewsLD Chandimal
5th24LD ChandimalDAS Gunaratne
6th13NLTC PereraDAS Gunaratne
7th30NLTC PereraPW Hasaranga
8th37NLTC PereraA Dananjaya
9th14RAS LakmalNLTC Perera
10th3RAS LakmalPVD Chameera

Tri-Nation Tournament in Bangladesh

TeamMWLPTNRR
BAN431151.114
SL42290.146
ZIM4134-1.087