RAWALPINDI: Sri Lanka defeated Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the fifth match of the tri-nation T20 series held at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Lankans comfortably chased a target of 147 in just 16.2 overs, keeping their hopes alive to reach the final.
Pathum Nissanka starred for Sri Lanka, remaining unbeaten on 98 off 58 balls, including 11 fours and 4 sixes.Kusal Mendis contributed 25 runs, while Kamil Mishra added 12 before being dismissed. Zimbabwe’s sole wicket in the chase was taken by Brad Evans. Earlier, Zimbabwe batted first and posted 146 for the loss of five wickets in their allotted 20 overs.Captain Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl were the top scorers with 37 runs each, while Brian Bennett added 34 runs.
For Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga and Mahesh Theekshana took two wickets each, while Dhananjaya de Silva claimed one.
With this convincing win, Sri Lanka keeps their hopes alive for a place in the Tri-Series final, while Zimbabwe will need to regroup for the remaining matches.
Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamil Mishara, 4 Kusal Perera, 5 Janith Liyanage, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Pavan Rathnayake, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Eshan Malinga
Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Tadiwanashe Marumani, 3 Brendan Taylor (wk), 4 Sikandar Raza (capt), 5 Ryan Burl, 6 Dion Myers, 7 Tashinga Musekiwa, 8 Brad Evans, 9 Wellington Masakadza, 10 Tinotenda Maposa, 11 Richard Ngarava
