Sri Lanka suffers series loss as allrounder Raza shines in historic Zimbabwe ODI triumph

Zimbabwe cricketers pose for photographers after victory in the fifth one-day international (ODI) cricket match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at the Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium in the southern district of Hambantota on July 10, 2017 - AFP

AFP: Sikandar Raza starred with the bat and ball to help Zimbabwe edge out Sri Lanka by three wickets and clinch a historic series victory in the fifth one-day international on Monday.

Taking the series 3-2 in Hambantota, the 11th-ranked Zimbabwe registered their maiden series win in Sri Lanka and first overseas triumph in eight years.

Off-spinner Raza claimed three wickets to restrict the hosts to 203-8 after Zimbabwe elected to field first. He then anchored a tense chase with an unbeaten 27 as the visitors won with 71 balls to spare.

Zimbabwe opener Hamilton Masakadza top-scored with a fluent 73 before rookie off-spinner Akila Dananjaya struck back with four wickets to rattle the Zimbabwe middle-order.

The visitors slipped from 137-1 to 175-7 - losing six wickets for 38 runs - but Raza and skipper Graeme Cremer (11 not out) hung on for an unbeaten 29-run stand as the perennial underdogs erupted in celebrations.

“Happy that Sikandar came to the party. It turned around very quickly but happy we pulled it off in the end,” an elated Cremer said following their win.

“This win is very special, fans must be jumping around back home. We knew we’re playing good enough cricket to put them under pressure.”

Earlier the Pakistan-born Raza, who opened the bowling for the visiting side, returned with impressive figures of 3-21 at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium.

Raza, named man of the match, was complemented by Cremer, who took two wickets with his wily leg-spin, most notably the prized scalp of his opposite number Angelo Mathews (24).

‘Weapon with the new ball’ 

“Raza is a definite weapon with the new ball. I was hoping for a breakthrough or two and he gave us that in the powerplay,” Cremer said.

Sri Lanka suffered from a lack of partnerships but opener Danushka Gunathilaka (52) and Asela Gunaratne (59 not out) hit gritty half-centuries to steady the home side.

The hosts slipped to 153-8 in the 42nd over before Gunaratne and Dushmantha Chameera (18 not out) put on an unbeaten 50-run stand for the ninth wicket.

Paceman Tendai Chatara drew first blood after getting opener Niroshan Dickwella - who came into the match with two successive centuries - caught behind for three.

The wicket also pulled the brakes on Sri Lanka’s rampaging opening starts in the previous one-day internationals against the visiting African side.

Dickwella and Gunathilaka made ODI history in delivering back-to-back double century partnerships in the previous two contests against Zimbabwe.

One of the lowest points in my career - Mathews

ESPNcricinfo: The unexpected 2-3 home series loss to Zimbabwe is "one of the lowest points" of Angelo Mathews' career, and may in fact prompt the re-evaluation of his captaincy. Two days ago, Mathews hinted he may not be Sri Lanka's captain during the 2019 World Cup, but an unexpected series loss to the 11th-ranked ODI side has his leadership draw particular scrutiny.

"It's one of the lowest points in my career, and a hard one to swallow," Mathews said. "Everything went against us, from the toss to misreading the wicket. But there are no excuses. At the end of the day we were not good enough to beat them. They played better cricket."

Under Mathews, Sri Lanka have won an away Test series against England, and a home Test series against Australia - two of Sri Lanka's greatest triumphs in the format - but they have been largely poor in ODI cricket since the last World Cup. They have defeated Ireland and West Indies under Mathews, but have lost home series against Pakistan, Australia and now Zimbabwe. Mathews said he would seek consultation before making a firm decision on his captaincy future.

"Still haven't thought about stepping down," he said. "There's time. I'll give it a bit more thought and talk to the selectors. I haven't decided anything yet."

Though they have won T20 series against depleted South Africa and Australia squads, Sri Lanka have not won an ODI or Test series this year. Their performances on the South Africa tour and the group-stage exit at the Champions Trophy came under particular fire.

"We have not been consistent," Mathews said. "The pressure is on all of us. The more we lose, the more pressure we are under. There is no solution for that and the only solution is winning. We try to win games, but we commit too many mistakes." Despite the dispiriting defeat, Sri Lanka have little time to lick their wounds. The one-off Test against Zimbabwe begins on Friday, before a full tour against India kicks off on 26 July.

"We have an India series coming up, but before that, we have the Test against Zimbabwe to talk about. The Indian series will be even tougher. In a small period we have to fix our problems. As a team we did do the training, but nothing is working in the middle."