DHAKA — After a thrilling win against these opponents in the second match of this series, Zimbabwe will be looking to make it two out of two against Sri Lanka and put themselves into the final against hosts Bangladesh today. ICC
It was Zimbabwe’s third consecutive ODI win against Sri Lanka, having beaten them twice in Hambantota in July.
For Sri Lanka, there is a desperate need to turnaround their form in ODI cricket. They have lost their last four matches and have just one win in their last 17 fixtures in one-day cricket. In 2017 they lost 23 of their 29 ODIs. The recent addition of former Bangladesh coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, has been seen as a positive for this team, but it hasn’t translated into positive results — yet.
Sri Lanka’s talismanic captain, Angelo Mathews, will miss this match with a hamstring injury. If they make it to the final he may well return to the team. Dinesh Chandimal will lead the side in his absence.
There have been very few standout performances from Sri Lanka in this series so far, but Thisara Perera is the one man who has some serious form behind him in these matches. His 64 from 37 balls in the first match between these two teams was almost enough to see his side home, and he has five wickets in his two matches so far, meaning he tops the batting and the bowling averages for his team.
For Zimbabwe, there have been runs and wickets for Sikandar Raza in this series thus far. He made 52 and took 2/53 against Bangladesh and his explosive 81 not out against Sri Lanka is the innings of the tri-series to date. If Zimbabwe make the final, Raza’s contribution against Bangladesh will be very telling on the result.
Hamilton Masakadza’s 73 helped set up Zimbabwe’s victory in their first fixture against Sri Lanka, and he will be so important to getting his team off to a strong start. He can be hit and miss, but if Masakadza can fire and set a solid foundation at the top of the order, his side will be in a very strong position to make the final.
Zimbabwe squad: Graeme Cremer (captain), Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza, Peter Moor, Malcolm Waller, Ryan Murray, Tendai Chisoro, Brandon Mavuta, Blessing Muzarabani, Chris Mpofu, Tendai Chatara, Kyle Jarvis.
