RESULT
3rd ODI, Hambantota, July 06, 2017, Zimbabwe tour of Sri Lanka
(47.2/50 ov, T:311) 312/2

Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets (with 16 balls remaining)

Player Of The Match
116 (111)
danushka-gunathilaka
New
SL
Full commentary

That's all we have for you from this game. Catch up with Andrew Fernando's report here, or the Test between SA and England here. But other than that, see ya.

"It was a fantastic effort by the boys. After losing the first game, we had our backs against the ball and we came back well," Angelo Mathews says, "Hamilton played briliantly, credit to him, but we came back very well to keep them to 310. Danushka and Dickwella batted brilliantly and after they gout out, Upul took us home. We can't thank him enough, he's been up and down the order for many years. Here he gave his place to the others to open and he is still scoring runs"

"I thought we had enough runs on the board," says Graeme Cremer, the Zimbabwe captian, "We might have slowed down between 30 to 40, but we picked it up after that. It was a good wicket, and the openers did take the game away from us. Didn't help that we dropped a few chances. Didn't start well with the ball either. We need to get runs on the board batting first, but 310 was enough, we just need to get better with the field. Our bowling was probably under par as well"

"I just played my normal game. Credit goes to Dickwella, he played a brilliant knock," says Gunathilaka, the Man of the Match, says "It was a great wicket to bat and we knew if we played out natural game, we could get it easily. Credit goes to the bowlers, it was a hard wicket ot bowl. They did really well"

"Great feeling to get my first hundred," Dickwella says. "Playing in Sri Lanka, making my first century in front of our crowd is a great feeling. Great privilege batting with Gunathilaka as well. We just wanted to keep the run-rate under 6 and 6.5. We were just batting out the overs, not talking much, not thinking much. [Is that your best knock?] Not really, not up to my standards. I just want to make my country proud and make it easy for the team. I was counting my runs from 90, and I asked Gunathilaka if I was on 99 or 98 and he said, you were on 99 [he was on 98], I'm sure. So when I got a single next ball, I started celebrating."

5.35 pm This is the match Angelo Mathews has waited all his career for: to put his feet up in the dressing room all innings while his boys go out and hunt down 300-plus.

Especially after your bowlers took 25 minutes longer to finish their innings. This game has finished nearly on time with the batsmen picking up the slack beautifully. Niroshan Dickwella, with his whiplash hands, and Danushka Gunathilaka, with his sheer power, put on a double-century opening stand. What more do you want in a 300 chase? Zimbabwe just couldn't find a way past them, and when they did, their fielders let them down, dropping catches

So Hamilton Masakadza's fifth ODI ton was in vain. He played a superb innings, hitting straight more often than not and timing it beautifully too. Many of his shots were hit with the wind too. But he fell in the 33rd over, and there after Zimbabwe's scoring slumped. They probably finished 30-40 runs short. That's saying something considering Nuwan Pradeep, who had looked Sri Lanka's best bowler in the six overs he could get through, had to leave the field with some kind of leg injury. Stepping up for him were offspinner Aesla Gunaratne and legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga. Four wickets between them for 97 runs in 17 overs.

47.2
4
Mire to Upul Tharanga, FOUR runs

there it is. Only the second chase of 300 ever in Sri Lanka and both have come in this series. Tharanga wraps it up with a pull - indicative of the lengths Zimbabwe have insisted on bowling on this flat pitch, those tactics need to be looked at - and stays not out for the third innings in a row

47.1
Mire to Upul Tharanga, no run

back of a length ball, lets it go.

end of over 476 runs
SL: 308/2CRR: 6.55 RRR: 1.00
Upul Tharanga40 (30b 2x4 2x6)
Kusal Mendis28 (25b 2x4)
Tendai Chatara 6-0-47-0
Solomon Mire 1.4-0-15-0
46.6
1
Chatara to Upul Tharanga, 1 run

slower short ball on off stump, pulls it to deep midwicket

46.6
1w
Chatara to Upul Tharanga, 1 wide

continues digging into his own half, Tharanga continues to let them all go, and it's been called a wide for height

46.5
Chatara to Upul Tharanga, no run

avoids the attempted bouncer on leg stump

46.4
2
Chatara to Upul Tharanga, 2 runs

hits into the breeze, and so the ball just holds up in the air, and plop on the ground about two-thirds of the way to the midwicket boundary

46.3
Chatara to Upul Tharanga, no run

ducks under the short ball from around the wicket

46.3
1w
Chatara to Upul Tharanga, 1 wide

allows a short ball to stroll away over his right shoulder and become a wide

Roshan Indika: "After 02 years time we have been at Hambanthota sooriyawewa stadium...600 more runs scored today. What a pitch this has been"

46.2
Chatara to Upul Tharanga, no run

guides a shortish delivery to point

46.1
1
Chatara to Kusal Mendis, 1 run

shortish and outside off, sent away to the sweeper

Chatara's back

Qaaid Mowlana: "Tharanga has really matured in the last year, not long ago his average was languishing in the low 30s, it's now around 35, a sign of improving consistency. After so many years of frustration, he's finally rewarding everyone for their faith in him "

end of over 469 runs
SL: 302/2CRR: 6.56 RRR: 2.25
Kusal Mendis27 (24b 2x4)
Upul Tharanga37 (25b 2x4 2x6)
Solomon Mire 1.4-0-15-0
Sikandar Raza 10-0-55-0
45.6
1
Mire to Kusal Mendis, 1 run

meets the short ball under his eyes and pulls it to deep midwicket.

45.5
1
Mire to Upul Tharanga, 1 run

launches a short ball to deep midwicket

Tharaka Jasenth: "How cool is Upul Tharanga? He is yet to be dismissed this series, and has already scored 184 runs. Fabulous!"

45.4
1
Mire to Kusal Mendis, 1 run

shortish, and slow, on off stump, Mendis pulls to deep square leg and Sri Lanka have their 300. The last fifty coming in only 28 balls

45.3
2
Mire to Kusal Mendis, 2 runs

back of a length and outside off, pushes it to the right of the sweeper cover

Solomon Mire to finish the over

Mumba goes down again! That right knee just collapses as he plants it down on the crease to bowl over it. It's already heavily strapped up, and Mumba is frantically removing all of it. He should really go off here. And he is. Good thing for Zimbabwe though is that he is walking off without any help from the physio.

45.2
Mumba to Kusal Mendis, no run

offcutter on off stump, defends. And again, Mumba falls in his followthrough, tripping over his right leg. He keeps doing that because he runs in at an angle into the wickets, and then has to change direction immediately to avoid the danger area.

45.1
4
Mumba to Kusal Mendis, FOUR runs

that's ridiculously easy, he made it look ridiculously easy. Out comes a short ball, well outside off, and Mendis greets it with the gentlest little ramp to the third man boundary

end of over 458 runs
SL: 293/2CRR: 6.51 RRR: 3.60
Upul Tharanga36 (24b 2x4 2x6)
Kusal Mendis19 (19b 1x4)
Sikandar Raza 10-0-55-0
Carl Mumba 6-0-32-0
44.6
4
Raza to Upul Tharanga, FOUR runs

waits in his load-up and then delivers - guess what? - another short ball. Tharanga isn't fooled by such theatrics. Smacks a cut shot through extra cover

44.5
1
Raza to Kusal Mendis, 1 run
44.4
1
Raza to Upul Tharanga, 1 run

races down the pitch and nails a straight drive. Raza does well to move to his left and get two hands on it. But it has so much power that it pings away

44.3
Raza to Upul Tharanga, no run

flatter delivery, keeps low on off stump, and Tharanga, who's weight is going back and away on leg stump, just about toe-ends it

44.2
1
Raza to Kusal Mendis, 1 run

rocks back, picking the length early, or predicting it with Zimbabwe constantly bowling short, and the pull shot goes to long leg to bring up the fifty stand

44.1
1
Raza to Upul Tharanga, 1 run

cuts from the stumps, with Raza bowling flat. Single to the sweeper

AskESPNcricinfo Logo
Instant answers to T20 questions
Sri Lanka Innings
<1 / 3>