Kamindu Mendis’ 41 not out off 16 from No. 6 rescued Sri Lanka from a collapse, and catapulted them to victory in a game that seemed to be slipping away. Sri Lanka needed 46 runs off the last four overs, having slipped from 96 for no loss to 125 for 5.
But Kamindu crashed four sixes and a four, the vast majority of those shots coming behind square on the leg side as Zimbabwe’s seamers got their lines wrong at the death. In the end, Sri Lanka cruised home with five balls remaining and four wickets in hand.
Higher up the order, Pathum Nissanka struck his third half century of the tour to set the platform for this chase of 176. It was a competitive total given the conditions, with Brian Benett’s 81 off 57 balls being the primary driver of Zimbabwe’s score.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 177 for 6 in 19.1 overs (Pathum Nissanka 55, Kusal Mendis 38, Kamindu Mendis 41, Dushan Hemantha 14*; Richard Ngarava 2-19, Blessing Muzarabani 1-41, Tinotenda Maposa 1-47, Brad Evans 1-30, Sikandar Raza 1-36) beat Zimbabwe 175 for 7 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 81, Sean Williams 14, Sikandar Raza 28, Ryan Burl 17, Tashinga Musekiwa 11; Nuwan Thushara 1-47, Maheesh Theekshana 1-38, Dushmantha Chameera 3 for 30, Dushan Hemantha 1-28) by four wickets
[Cricinfo]
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