The Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine led from the front as the batting unit of the African side once again proved it’s worth taking the team total past 300 after a brilliant 91 from the captain and a great half-century from Sikandar Raza. This score has come on the back of 296 that Zimbabwe scored against the same opposition in the first ODI played at the same venue- Pallekele International Stadium on Sunday, January 16, 2022.
Once again deciding to bat first after winning the toss, the Chevrons got off to a decent start as the opening pair of Regis Chakabva and youngster Takudzwanashe Kaitano added 59 for the first wicket before Kaitano was removed by Jeffrey Vandersay once again. Then walked in Ervine, who was lucky enough to survive a dismissal thanks to DRS.
After being adjudged Leg Before Wicket off the bowling of Maheesh Theekshana, Ervine opted for DRS which clearly showed that the ball would have missed the stumps. Pouncing on to that chance, the 36-year-old played a brilliant knock. He first had a 31 run stand with Chakabva, which was broken as the latter was stumped off Vandersay for 47, narrowly missing out on a fifty.
Ervine created yet another partnership as he got going with his old pal Sean Williams, adding 106 for the third wicket. Those runs came in just 104 balls, maintaining the scoring rate of the team.
While Williams could not add another fifty to his tally, getting stumped off Vandersay on 48, Ervine got to his 18th fifty during that partnership. Wesley Madhevere, who joined Ervine after the fall of Williams didn’t stay long either and Zimbabwe were reduced to 205-4.
Sikandar Raza walked in and then added 51 runs with Ervine before the captain was removed by Theekshana unfortunately for 91 off 98 balls. Raza wasn’t much troubled by that as he added 40 for the sixth wicket with Ryan Burl and also reached his 19th ODI fifty before being dismissed as the last Zimbabwean wicket to fall with the score at 302. Before him, Burl and Wellington Masakadza had been dismissed as well.
Apart from Vadersay, who picked up three wickets, Nuwan Pradeep added two to his tally in the last over as well while Theekshana and Chamika Karunaratne got one each.