Report by Champika Fernando

Solomon Mire (112) struck his maiden century and Sean Williams (65) and Sikandar Raza(67 not out) hit half-centuries as Zimbabwe beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in a record run-chase in the first ODI in Galle yesterday.  Zimbabwe made 322 for four with 14 balls to spare in reply to Sri Lanka’s 316 for 5.

Sri Lanka, currently the eighth-ranked one-day international side, are playing five limited over games against 11^th -ranked Zimbabweans and the defeat comes as a rude shock for the depleted Sri Lankans looking for a turnaround of fortunes.

The pair added a match-winning 161 off 133 balls for the third wicket after Sri Lanka picked up two top-order wickets for 46 runs to lead them to a comfortable victory.  However Sri Lanka will rue miss opportunities as they dropped at least three catches during the match. Mire was initially dropped on 17 by wicketekeeper Niroshan Dickwella, who failed to hold a tough chance off the bowling of Amila Aponso and was dropped again on 94 by Lasith who dropped a straightforward catch. Danushka Gunathilaka also dropped Sean Williams.

Asela Gunaratne struck twice removing both Mire and Williams in quick succession but it was too late for a comeback as Zimbabwe had the perfect platform to record a win. Mire offered a simple return catch while Williams had his stumps rattled by Gunaratne as Zimbabwe lost their fourth wicket with 97 runs still needing to win. However, Sikandar Raza and Malcolm Waller cashed in adding an unbeaten 102 runs for the fifth wicket to lead them home with –balls to spare.  Waller was unbeaten on 40 off 29 balls while Raza made spared only 56 balls to his quick-fire 67. 

"Poor performance by the bowlers and fielding once again let us down.We dropped crucial catches at crucial moments. Can't say that enough. We have trained extremely hard on fielding, but it's just that in critical occasions we keep dropping catches, which costs us the game," Mathews said after the match.

Kusal Mendis (86), Danushka Gunathilaka (60) and Upul Tharanga (79) hit half-centuries as Sri Lanka scored a formidable 316 for 5 in their innings.

Sri Lanka lost opener Niroshan Dickwella (10) cheaply but Mendis and Gunathilaka shared an impressive 117 runs for the second wicket to help Sri Lanka’s cause for an imposing total on a good batting track. Skipper Angelo Mathews made a brisk 43 off 30-balls and shared a vital 74 runs for the 4th wicket with Tharanga who remained unbeaten on 78 off 71 deliveries.

Along the way, Tharanga reached the 6000-run mark while young Mendis also passed career 1000 runs. Tendai Chetara was the pick of the Zimbabwean bowler claiming two for 42.

Sri Lanka brought in off-spinner Akila Dananjaya and leg-spinner Amila Aponso into the playing XI while visitors made a solitary change of replacing Chris Mpofu with right arm seamer Donald Tiripano.

Sri Lanka Innings       
Niroshan Dickwella            c Burl b Chatara            10 
Danushka Gunathilaka          c Ervine b Williams         60 
Kusal Mendis                  c&b Cremer              86 
Upul Tharanga                 not out                     79 
Angelo Mathews                b Mire                      43 
Asela Gunaratne               c Waller b Chatara          28 
Lahiru Madushanka             not out                     1  
Extras                        (b-1 lb-2 w-6)              9  
Total                         (for 5 wickets, 50 overs)   316
Fall of wickets: 1-16 N. Dickwella,2-133 D. Gunathilaka,3-180 K. Mendis,4-254 A. Mathews,5-310 A. Gunaratne
Did not bat: L. Malinga, N. Pradeep, A. Aponso, A. Dananjaya
Bowling                 
T. Chatara                    9 - 1 - 49 - 2(w-1)            
D. Tiripano                   6 - 0 - 45 - 0                 
S. Williams                   9 - 0 - 57 - 1                 
G. Cremer                     10 - 0 - 57 - 1                
S. Mire                       7 - 0 - 47 - 1(w-2)            
S. Raza                       9 - 0 - 58 - 0(w-2)            
Zimbabwe Innings        
H. Masakadza                  c Dickwella b Malinga       5  
S. Mire                       c&b Gunaratne           112
C. Ervine                     c Tharanga b Dananjaya      18 
S. Williams                   b Gunaratne                 65 
S. Raza                       not out                     67 
M. Waller                     not out                     40 
Extras                        (lb-5 nb-1 w-9)             15 
Total                         (for 4 wickets, 47.4 overs) 322
Fall of wickets: 1-12 H. Masakadza,2-46 C. Ervine,3-207 S. Mire,4-220 S. Williams
Did not bat: P. Moor, R. Burl, G. Cremer, D. Tiripano, T. Chatara
Bowling                 
Lasith Malinga                9 - 0 - 51 - 1(nb-1 w-3)       
Nuwan Pradeep                 9 - 1 - 52 - 0                 
Akila Dananjaya               10 - 0 - 61 - 1(w-1)           
Amila Aponso                  8.4 - 0 - 77 - 0(w-3)          
Danushka Gunathilaka          2 - 0 - 13 - 0(w-1)            
Lahiru Madushanka             2 - 0 - 18 - 0(w-1)            
Asela Gunaratne               7 - 0 - 45 - 2                 
Referees                
Umpire: Ian Gould                                            
Umpire: Ruchira Palliyaguruge                                
TV umpire: Nigel Llong                                       
Match referee: Chris Broad                                   
Result: Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets 

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Sri Lanka Playing Xi
N Dickwella†
MD Gunathilaka
BKG Mendis
WU Tharanga
AD Mathews*
DAS Gunaratne
LD Madushanka
SL Malinga
N Pradeep
MA Aponso
A Dananjaya

Zimbabwe Playing Xi
SF Mire
H Masakadza
CR Ervine
SC Williams
Sikandar Raza
PJ Moor†
MN Waller
RP Burl
AG Cremer*
DT Tiripano,
TL Chatara

Read the Match Preview : Under pressure Sri Lanka geared for Zimbabwe challenge (Video)