Match report Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka 2003/04 4th ODI by John Ward

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Scorecard:

Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka

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The new Zimbabwe team surprised most people, not least Sri Lanka, by being competitive for much of the fourth one-day international, going down in the end by 72 runs against much weakened opposition.

 

On another fine day, and with another minute crowd, Zimbabwe won the toss for the first time in the series against Sri Lanka, and put them in to bat for the fourth one-day international. However, it promised to be another hopelessly one-sided game, though guaranteed to last until midafternoon with Sri Lanka taking strike.

 

Zimbabwe, all out for 35 on Sunday, decided the best team change to make was to drop a batsman, Vusi Sibanda, for a bowler, Tawanda Mupariwa, who made his debut. In fact, they had no other batsmen in their emaciated squad. Sri Lanka did their best to even the situation, with captain Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas all stepping down, and Upal Chandana and Nuwan Kulasekera returning, with batsman Thilina Kandamby being given his debut. Mahela Jayawardene took over the captaincy.

 

The current Zimbabwe team is stronger in bowling than batting, though that is not saying too much and the bowlers have not had too many opportunities to show it before during the series. Douglas Hondo and Tinashe Panyangara bowled plenty of good deliveries early on, forcing the new opening pair of Kumar Sangakkara and Saman Jayantha to play with care. However, control was not always there, which meant they could not apply sustained pressure, and the batsmen had simply to wait for the loose ball and dispatch it.

 

When Jayantha had 12 Zimbabwe missed the chance of a breakthrough, as he drove Panyangara hard but straight to extra cover Elton Chigumbura, who dropped the catch. Shortly afterwards, though, Chigumbura had the chance to make amends, as Jayantha, now on 23, tried to loft the ball over mid-off, but Chigumbura ran back and took a fine catch over his head. This gave Mupariwa his first international wicket.

 

Panyangara bowled an impressive opening spell of eight overs for 23 runs, while Mupariwa bowled with intelligence at the other end. Both kept the ball well up to the bat, a good policy on a pitch that did not encourage driving. Mupariwa finally produced an excellent slower ball that deceived Jayawardene and bowled him for 26.

 

Mupariwa kept in the action, as shortly afterwards, from backward square leg, he produced a fine bit of fielding as Sangakkara tried to steal a single and ran out Russel Arnold for 7. Then came a real breakthrough for Zimbabwe, as Mluleki Nkala, whose bowling form has been very variable in recent years, came on to bowl his first over. Firstly he had Sangakkara driving uppishly and caught in the covers for 63, scored off 100 balls, and later in the over, without addition, had debutant Kandamby caught at the wicket as he tried to drive outside off stump. Sri Lanka were now 137 for five.

 

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upal Chandana struggled to repair the damage and set Zimbabwe a difficult target for victory. Having settled in, they scored mainly through quick, well-judged singles and got the score moving briskly again. Then, by a good ploy, Taibu came up to the stumps for Nkala and picked up a superb leg-side catch from Dilshan (18), whipping the bails off for good measure. The catch, completed first, counted, and Sri Lanka were 177 for six in the 42nd over.

 

Farveez Maharoof proved a valuable partner from Chandana, who continued to score with quick singles and boundaries. They added 43 together before, in the final over which was bowled by Panyangara, Maharoof (19) played a ball on the off side but was superbly run out by Tatenda Taibu, who threw the stumps down at the bowler’s end. Two balls later Taibu was at it again, throwing down the stumps as Chandana (51) called the new batsman, Rangana Herath, through for an attempted bye, bringing to an end a fine innings. Panyangara then hit Fernando’s off stump and the Sri Lankan innings came to an end at a disappointing 222 for nine.

 

It had been a good effort overall for inexperienced bowlers, with Nkala taking the best figures of three for 50. Mupariwa took two for 44, while Panyangara was the most economical with one for 32 off his ten overs.

 

Without the dreaded Vaas, or even the more than useful Zoysa, Zimbabwe’s openers began with unaccustomed confidence. Kulasekara and Fernando opened the bowling, and neither was in the same class as the regulars, lacking in both line and length. The score was 19 in the fifth over when Stuart Matsikenyeri (7) gave it away, slashing outside the off stump to be caught at the wicket off Kulasekara.

 

Nkala was sent in perhaps as a pinch-hitter, but after scoring a single off his first ball he slashed at the second, from Fernando, and was caught at the wicket; 22 for two. Brendan Taylor was a strange mixture, confident at times, diffident at others, strongest with the cut and cover drive to start with, but playing two superb straight drives off the front foot and gradually extending his range of strokes. But with Ebrahim struggling to start with, Zimbabwe lost many opportunities of runs from bad balls.

 

When Herath came on to bowl his left-arm spin, though, Taylor came down the pitch and hit him high over long-on for a superb six. What Herath could not do, though, Chandana did, beating Taylor on the drive with a perfect leg-break and having him stumped for 38; 65 for three.

 

Much now rested on Taibu, but when he had 12 he tried to chop a ball from Chandana through the slips, only to find Sangakkara behind the stumps holding on remarkably to a genuine thick edge. Alester Maregwede now came in to join Ebrahim, the sheet-anchor, but the required scoring rate rose gradually towards seven an over. Then he too fell to an outstanding catch, swinging a ball from Arnold to leg, only for Dilshan at midwicket to leap and pull down the ball. Zimbabwe were 115 for five in the 34th over.

 

The hard-hitting Elton Chigumbura, in partnership with Ebrahim, was Zimbabwe ’s last realistic hope. But he had only 5 to his name when he spooned a gentle return catch to Arnold, and the Zimbabwe tail was now called upon. The end was not long in coming now.

 

Prosper Utseya (3) was next to go, run out backing up too far, with Sangakkara throwing to the bowler’s end and being responsible for yet another dismissal. Mupariwa, having got off the mark, lofted Herath over long-on for six as his next scoring stroke in international cricket, but he then gave his wicket away for 8, ambling down the pitch for a single and allowing Chandana at mid-on to throw the stumps down. Hondo and Panyangara had little to offer against the pace of the promising Maharoof, and when he yorked the latter the match was over, but this time Zimbabwe were not disgraced.

 

(Article: Copyright © 2004 John Ward)