A classy century from opener Solomon Mire guided Zimbabwe to a historic 6 wicket win over Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium. It was a record-breaking day for Zimbabwean cricket as they strolled to their first ever victory over Sri Lanka in their own backyard. The effort that lead to this brilliant performance also saw them become the first ever team to knock off a 300 + chase in Sri Lanka.
Solomon Mire set the tone for the special chase after the hosts posted a hefty looking 316/5 batting first. Mire’s knock was backed up by half-centuries from Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza. The duo successfully did the finishing job and make the fans relive the good old days of Zimbabwean cricket, back in the late 90’s, when they were known as the ‘Giant Killers.’
The impact of the outstanding trio pf Mires, Raza and Williams was such that Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews was left scratching his heads towards the end before disappearing with his team in no time after handshakes.
The start of the chase was rough. Experiences opener Hamilton Masakadza was removed in the 3rd over by Lasith Malinga in a massive jolt. No. 3 Craig Ervine also flunked and could manage just 18 as the visitors were reduced to just 46/2 after 10.2 overs.
However, a superb revival was then led by Mires and Williams. The duo added 161 runs for the 3rd wicket and smoothly turned the tide towards the Zimbabwean side. This stand threw the Lankans out of contention literally.
Mire’s attacking penchant proved to be too hot for the hosts to handle while Williams, with his counter-attacking prowess, acted a proper support to his well-set partner.
While the win can be concluded as easy in nature eventually but there was a slight hiccup at the mid-way stage after the dismissal of Mire which brought the thriving stand to a halt. The Zimbabweans stood at 207/3 at the time Williams welcomed Raza to the crease and there was a lot of work still left to do.
But, the Lankans could not make use of the breakthrough and gain momentum as the Williams – Raza pair forged another significant stand of 113 runs to script the famous win.
Yes Aaalia Sikandar played tremendous inning gud 2 see after long time Zimbabwe wid great instinct
— Ravinder Singh (@iambohemianravi) June 30, 2017
More pressure when you Zimbabwe as when you play top ranked team… https://t.co/Mby54mlCgP
— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) June 30, 2017
Nice Cricket By Zimbabwe Players
Weldone pic.twitter.com/NoqxEKm31S— Nishant Kumar (@Nishant27716) June 30, 2017
Even Zimbabwe defeated Srilanka and India failed to beat them in Champions trophy ??#SLvZIM
— Awais Yaseen (@AwaisYaseen9) June 30, 2017
Zimbabwe chased down 317 against SL with 14 balls to spare . Romba vaai pesum pothae nenaichan SL bulb vaanguvan nu ??
— Deepan (@Dpn_16) June 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/AAQEEEB/status/880771026992242688
https://twitter.com/sportsfreakORG/status/880771756193198081