Saturday Sep 06, 2025
Saturday Sep 06, 2025
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ODI series winner Sri Lanka
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Any team regardless of their rankings is difficult to beat under their own conditions and in this aspect Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya heaped praise on his batsmen and fast bowlers for winning the two-match ODI series against Zimbabwe 2-0.
It was no easy walk in the park for fourth ranked Sri Lanka against 11th ranked Zimbabwe as both matches went to the final over before a result was reached. Some may argue that Sri Lanka struggled to beat Zimbabwe, of course they did. But why they came through victorious was because of a good team effort.
“Getting used to these conditions is not easy but the players put in a lot of hard work in the middle. The initial 10-15 overs, they ensured we did not lose too many wickets,” said Jayasuriya summarising Sri Lanka’s victory. “The batting unit did the hard work in the first game and the bowlers bowled well. Even though it went till the last over we were just hanging there till the last ball was bowled. That’s what we want from the players.”
“The second game we bowled well to keep them down to 277 but one aspect is we must make sure that we don’t concede so many extras. We need to improve on that. Pathum Nissanka batted brilliantly for 40+ overs to get a big hundred and Charith Asalanka carried on from there. Overall, the batting and bowling was good, but there is a little bit of concern about the fielding, especially the catching, we need to work on it.”
“It’s good for the boys to win a series outside Sri Lanka. Any win anywhere in the world will go down as an achievement because we are not playing under our conditions. It’s totally different conditions in Zimbabwe and it’s very difficult to come and settle down. It’s not easy because Zimbabwe knows their conditions very well. They have a good batting line up and experienced players and they played good cricket.”
“The difficulty lies with the wickets. In the first 10-15 overs it is up and down and two-paced. With the game starting as early as 9:30 in the morning, the weather is also a little bit on the cooler side. For a team like Sri Lanka, it is not easy to make a start, but our boys adjusted themselves really well. Overcoming the high-altitude conditions (3,000-4,000 feet above sea level) was the key for us.”
Nissanka was adjudged the Player of the Match (for his innings of 122) as well as the Player of the Series (aggregate of 198, avg. 99.00).
Sri Lanka’s next assignment on their tour to Zimbabwe is a three-match T20I series starting in Harare tomorrow.
Pathum Nissanka, the Player of the Match and Player of the Series
Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya
Sri Lanka Captain Charith Asalanka receives the ODI series trophy
