Sri Lanka on Monday thrashed Zimbabwe by 2 wickets in the 2nd ODI match at R. Premadasa Stadium in what turned out to be an exhilarating clash in the end. It remained a nail-biting encounter until Sri Lanka emerged victorious by a slim margin of two wickets to take 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Deciding to bat first after winning the toss, Zimbabwe reached a fighting total of (208) after being bowled out in (44.4) overs. The top order, led by their captain, showcased resilience against the Sri Lankan bowling attack. Notable performance came from skipper Craig Ervine who scored (82) runs to help the side. In the middle order, Ryan Burl and Milton Shumba added stability to the innings with their scores of (31) and (26) respectively.
Casing the total, Sri Lanka lost their top three batters early on, but the resistance from Janith Liyanage kept the team in hunt to get a hard-fought victory. Lower the order, cameos played by Maheesh Theekshana (18), Dushmantha Chameera (18) and Jeffrey Vandersay (19) helped the side take 1-0 lead. For Zimbabwe, Richard Ngarava put on a super bowling show while returning with his five-wicket haul.