SRI LANKA VS ZIMBABWE, 2017
Herath helps SL dominate opening session
Rangana Herath dismissed both Zimbabwean openers to dent the visitors early © AFP
The ODI series result may have come as a shock, and the repercussions were severe, but Sri Lanka wasted little time in reasserting their dominance against Zimbabwe.
With a new permanent captain in Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka shrugged off the disappointment of losing the toss, to end the first session on top. Buoyed by the wily and experienced Rangana Herath, the hosts reduced Zimbabwe to 96 for 4 by the time Lunch was taken.
Asked to bowl, Sri Lanka made a positive start, with pacers Lahiru Kumara and Suranga Lakmal troubling the Zimbabwe openers. Hamilton Masakadza escaped a narrow LBW call and its resulting DRS decision. However, once Rangana Herath was introduced into the attack, the visitors had no answers.
The left-armer needed just three deliveries to show he was going to be the biggest threat for Zimbabwe. He tossed his second ball up to Regis Chakabva and got the ball to spin away from the defensive prod. The very next ball, delivered on the same trajectory had the batsman playing for spin this time. Herath had cleverly slipped in the slider, and Chakabva had to make his way back to the pavillion. Soon after, he had Hamilton Masakadza out caught at bat-pad for 19.
On the same score, debutant Tarisai Musakanda was out to Kumara. Sri Lanka had gone in for a review after the batsman missed a drive. There was no Ultra Edge or HotSpot to determine whether there was an edge, but the third umpire went on the basis of the sound heard when ball passed the bat and ruled the batter out for 6. At 38 for 3, Zimbabwe were in all sorts of trouble.
Sean Williams and Craig Ervine looked to steady the ship that had been battered, and they were able to get the side to 70 without further damage. Williams had looked positive during his stay, using the reverse sweep and deft touches to score at a good rate. It, unfortunately, turned out to be his downfall, too. He elected to sweep Dilruwan Perera against the turn, and only succeeded in top edging it to Asela Gunaratne.
The visitors continued to play positive cricket despite the barrage of wickets. Sikandar Raza and Ervine continued to use to sweep and the paddle against SL's spinners as runs flowed towards the end of the session.
Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 96/4 (Sean Williams 22, Craig Ervine 19*; Rangana Herath 2-36) vs Sri Lanka
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