Once Williams fell - courtesy Theekshana, there was little resistance from the lower order. Theekshana capitalised on that to finish with a four-for while Pathirana - largely erratic - finished with a couple to clean up the tail. Should be a canter for Sri Lanka unless Zimbabwe produce something special. Join us soon for the chase.
Sean Williams: "The dressing room always stays positive regardless of what happens in the middle. Needed to continue to be positive and build partnership. Good batting wicket but if you bowl well, you can get purchase. At the pace Theekshana bowls, if you show the full face and punch him down for singles, that is the way to play him. Hopefully our fast bowlers come in hard and give them a good run."
Nalinka Ratnavi: "For all their world-class skill, important to note that three of Sri Lanka's main bowlers are 22, 22, 20, years old!! We're going to be hearing a lot from this team for years to come. "
11:48am Sri Lanka have their record of knocking over oppositions under 200 in this competition intact. A lot of introspection in store for the Zimbabwe batters but that is for later. The top order couldn't counter Madushanka's new-ball spell before WIlliams and Raza got together. The experienced Zimbabwe pair added 68 together but before and after that partnership, there was very little in the hosts' batting. Williams scored another fifty but unfortunately couldn't carry on for long.
B Muzarabani b Theekshana 0 (2m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
END OF OVER:32 | 5 Runs 2 Wkts | ZIM: 164/9 | RR: 5.12
- Blessing Muzarabani0 (1b)
- Wellington Masakadza3 (16b)
- Matheesha Pathirana3-0-18-2
- Maheesh Theekshana8-1-24-3
Blessing Muzarabani is the last man in.
R Ngarava b Pathirana 0 (2m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Richard Ngarava is the next batter in
B Evans lbw b Pathirana 14 (17m 16b 2x4 0x6) SR: 87.50