Zimbabwe 178 for six (Ervine 70, Jongwe 25*, Theekshana 2-25) beat Sri Lanka 173 for six (Asalanka 69, Mathews 66*, Jongwe 2-32, Muzarabani 2-36) by 4 wickets
The final over
Essentially the most Zimbabwe had scored from an over earlier than the final one was 13. However captain Hasaranga had used up all his frontliners by the nineteenth over, in an try to shut out the match, and he was caught with having to bowl one in all his mild seamers – Mathews or Dasun Shanaka – within the twentieth. And to make issues worse for the hosts, they might have simply 4 fielders exterior the 30-yard-circle as they had been penalised for a sluggish over charge.
Jongwe was eight off seven balls at this stage. However confronted with modest bowling, he started to search out the boundary. The primary ball was size exterior off, which he bludgeoned over lengthy on for six. Crucially, it turned out that Mathews had overstepped when bowling that ball, so Zimbabwe nonetheless had six to face.
The following ball – a free-hit – was smashed inside out over cowl, as Mathews missed his yorker-length. Then, the killer blow – a thumping six over the bowler’s head, off a slower ball, as Mathews as soon as once more let Jongwe get beneath him. Inside the house of two authorized deliveries, the requirement had come down to a few runs, off 4 balls.
Jongwe would miss the following ball, then ship the next one excessive into the infield off the highest edge, solely to be dropped by Maheesh Theekshana. Madande utilized the ending blow off the fifth ball, crashing the third six of the over past deep midwicket to begin full of life celebrations, and to ship Colombo right into a hush.
Ervine’s platform
The place Sri Lanka’s powerplay had been characterised by a hail of wickets, Zimbabwe constructed steadily inside theirs. The truth is Ervine struck the one boundary whereas the fielding restrictions had been in drive (he was 14 off 19 on the finish of the sixth over). However then he started to search out the boundary extra usually by the center overs, taking a liking to Hasaranga particularly, as he and Brian Bennett placed on 74 off 53 balls for the second wicket.
He received to fifty off his thirty eighth supply, and commenced to assault much more intently, because the required charge ballooned out in direction of 15. Hasaranga would get him with a googly finally – Ervine sending it straight up off a forefront – however he had saved Zimbabwe within the sport and the likes of Ryan Burl (13 off 9), Jongwe (25 not out off 12), and Madande (15 not out off 5), nonetheless with half an opportunity.
Zimbabwe’s seamers minimize down the Sri Lanka prime order
Charith Asalanka and Angelo Mathews increase Sri Lanka out of bother
Mathews would be a part of within the hitting too subsequent over, after they clattered 20 runs off Muzarabani, who had conceded solely 4 runs and brought two wickets in his first two overs. Asalanka was finally caught on the backward level boundary for 69 off 39 balls, within the 18th over. Mathews stayed not out on 66 off 51.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a author at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf