In the first T20I match against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka secured a victory by four wickets at the Harare Sports Club. Kamindu Mendis played an exceptional, unbeaten knock of 41 runs off just 16 deliveries, including a boundary and four maximums.
Batting first in the match, Zimbabwe posted a total of 175 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. Opening the innings for the hosts, Brian Bennett smashed 81 runs in 57 balls, with the help of 12 boundaries. Fellow opening batsman, Tadiwanashe Marumani, departed early on seven runs, which came in the same number of balls, including a boundary.
Later, Sean Williams scored 14 runs, followed by skipper Sikandar Raza`s knock of 28 runs. Ryan Burl, Tashing Musekiwa registered the scores of 17 and 11 runs, respectively, in their names. Tony Munyonga returned to the pavilion on a duck as he was run out by Kusal Mendis. Brad Evans didn`t open his account, and Tinotenda Maposa stayed unbeaten on two runs.
Sri Lanka`s Dushmantha Chameera showcased his exceptional skills with the ball and claimed three wickets. Nuwan Thushara, Maheesh Theekshana, and Dushan Hemantha bagged one wicket each. Kamindu Mendis and Dasun Shanaka went wicketless in the first T20I match.
While chasing a target of 176 runs, the Lankan opening duo delivered a stunning start. Facing 32 deliveries, Pathum Nissanka accumulated 55 runs, which was laced with four boundaries and two maximums. On the other hand, Kusal Mendis garnered 38 runs in 35 balls, including four boundaries.
Along with Kamindu`s heroics, Hemantha shouldered him well and stayed unbeaten on 14 runs.
Richard Ngarava was the most successful bowler for the hosts, as he bagged two wickets by conceding 19 runs in his four-over spell. Blessing Muzarabani, Tinotenda Maposa, Brad Evans, and skipper Raza registered one wicket each to their names.
The visitors chased the target by scoring 177 runs for the loss of six wickets in 19.1 overs. With this, the Lankans have taken a lead by 1-0 in the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.
Brief scores:
Zimbabwe 175/7 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 81, Sikandar Raza 28; Dushmantha Chameera 3-30, Dushan Hemantha 1-28) lost to Sri Lanka 177/6 in 19.1 overs (Pathum Nissanka 55, Charith Asalanka 41; Richard Ngarava 2-19, Sikandar Raza 1-26) by four wickets.
(With IANS Inputs)