Zimbabwe gave a big surprise in the tri-nation series in Rawalpindi. Chasing a target of 162 runs, Zimbabwe defeated Sri Lanka by a big margin of 67 runs, which is Zimbabwe’s biggest win in terms of runs against a full-fledged team in T20Is.

You might think that this can happen in T20 cricket. However, dismissing Sri Lanka for just 95 runs is definitely a big success for Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe lost to Pakistan in the first match of the tri-nation series.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raja made a big contribution to this victory. In addition to scoring 47 runs in the batting, he also took 1 wicket in the bowling. He was also named man of the match. Raja reached the milestone of 100 wickets in T20 cricket.

Raja became the second bowler for Zimbabwe to take 100 wickets in T20Is. Raja also has more than 2,000 runs with the bat. Raja became the third cricketer to reach the milestone of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets in T20Is. Earlier, this feat was achieved by Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Nabi.

Sri Lanka won the toss and sent Zimbabwe to bat. Despite losing two wickets in the beginning, Brian Bennett and Sikandar Raja put on a crucial 61-run stand for the third wicket. Bennett was dismissed for 49 runs, while Raja played an innings of 47 runs. Bennett had not reached fifty in the last three T20Is—47, 49, 49.
After Raja was dismissed on the first ball of the 18th over, none of Zimbabwe’s batsmen could play a stormy innings. The team could only manage 22 runs in the last three overs. In the end, Zimbabwe scored 162 runs for 8 wickets. At that time, this run did not seem very safe.

But the scene changed as soon as Zimbabwe took the field with the ball. Zimbabwe’s bowlers were formidable with the ball. Richard Ngarava took the crucial wicket of Patum Nishanka in the first over. In the second over, Tinotenda Maposa returned Kusal Perera. Then Kusal Mendis was run out. Sri Lanka lost 3 wickets for just 25 runs.

From there, Brad Evans took control of the match. Bowling with an extraordinary line-length, he took 3 wickets for just 9 runs in 4 overs. Bhanuka Rajapaksa dismissed Ishan Malinga and Mahesh Tikshana. Ngarava also took 2 wickets. For Sri Lanka, only Dasun Shanaka (34) put up a bit of a fight, but it was not enough to prevent the team from losing.

Brief scores
Zimbabwe: 162/8 (Bennett 49, Raja 47; Hasaranga 3/32, Malinga 2/27)
Sri Lanka: 95 (Shanaka 34; Evans 3/9, Ngaraava 2/15)
Result: Zimbabwe won by 67 runs
Man of the match: Sikandar Raja