Story by Lawrence Trusida, Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE sniffed at victory in the first One Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka but ultimately fell short by seven runs at Harare Sports Club this Friday.
‘So near yet so far’ explains exactly what happened at Harare Sports Club.
Zimbabwe, just like a phoenix, had risen from the ashes after losing two quick wickets without troubling the scorers, chasing 299 runs for victory.
Ben Curran and Sean Williams set up a platform with a century partnership before Sikander Raza joined the fray, but was unfortunately dismissed in the penultimate over, and the match turned on its head.
Tony Munyonga also failed to see the team home and Dilshan Madushanka grabbed the opportunity, taking a hat-trick in the final over to condemn Zimbabwe to a seven-run defeat.
“We are disappointed we could not get home after putting ourselves in position. We have to learn from it and polish on the few areas that we lacked today. Ultimately, as a team we failed to take the opportunity that we had created,” Chevrons batsman, Ben Curran said.
Sri Lanka are the fourth best ODI team in the world and Zimbabwe are 11th, ahead of the second and final ODI set for Sunday.
