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Bennett's Knock Goes In Vain As Kamindu Mendis Blitz Ensures Sri Lanka's Thrilling Win vs ZIM

Arnav Chopra

ZIM vs SL (Source: @OfficialSLC/X.com)ZIM vs SL (Source: @OfficialSLC/X.com)

In the first T20I between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka at Harare, the visiting side won by four wickets with five deliveries to spare on the back of an excellent knock from Kamindu Mendis. Chasing 176 for victory, Sri Lanka aced the chase in 19.1 overs as the match went down to the final over.

Here, we take a look at the highlights of the first T20I between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, as it panned out at Harare Sports Club in Harare on Wednesday, September 3.

Brian Bennett's 81 Propels Zimbabwe To 175 After 20 Overs

After being asked to bat first, the Zimbabwe side lost their first wicket, Tadiwanashe Marumani, in the third over, as he departed for just seven, while Sean Williams lost his wicket to Maheesh Theekshana for 14. Despite that, opener Brian Bennett kept on his steady knock as he found boundaries at regular intervals.

Zimbabwean skipper Sikandar Raza scored a handy 28 off 22 deliveries, while Ryan Burl could only manage 17. With wickets tumbling at one end, Bennett kept his calm and kept troubling the Sri Lankan bowlers with his fluent boundaries.

Bennett scored a handsome 81 off 57 balls, as Zimbabwe went on to score 175 for 7 after the end of the 20 overs, where the left-handed opener departed on the final delivery of the 19th over, after being cleaned up by Dushmantha Chameera.

Apart from Bennett and Raza, no other batter could even cross the 20-run mark as the lower order collapsed easily. Chameera was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 30 in his 4 overs, while Nuwan Thushara and Maheesh Theekshana grabbed one wicket apiece.

Mendis' Late Surge Takes Sri Lanka To Final Over Victory

Chasing 176 for victory, the visiting side, Sri Lanka, had an extremely solid start with the likes of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis taking over the opposition right from the start. Runs started to flow at a rate where Zimbabwe couldn't curb the run rate, and Sri Lanka, at one stage, looked to be running away with the target.

That's when Nissanka lost his wicket to Tinotenda Maposa in the 11th over when Sri Lanka already had 96 runs on the board. Nissanka consumed 32 deliveries for his 55, which included four boundaries and two maximums, helping Sri Lanka boss the game in the early part.

Later, his batting opening partner, Kusal Mendis, also lost his wicket, only after scoring 38 off 35 deliveries, while one-down batter Kusal Perera couldn't survive more than eight deliveries, where he managed just four runs as Sri Lanka lost wickets in quick succession, especially in the 13th over of Richard Ngarava.

The wickets kept tumbling one after the other, and Sri Lanka, from being 96 for no loss, went on to a stage where they lost a fifth wicket at 125 runs, as half of the side were back in the pavilion by 15.3 overs, which included skipper Charith Asalanka, who could only manage a single run.

All of a sudden, the match seemed to have taken a huge turn as Zimbabwe made a roaring comeback in the game, considering the game that looked firmly in the hands of the Sri Lankan side had slipped away.

However, then came the all-rounder Kamindu Mendis, who didn't waste any opportunity to take a jibe at the Zimbabwean bowlers with his articulate hitting. Playing just 16 deliveries, Mendis scored a stunning 41 not out, which included a boundary and four maximums, as he struck runs at a ravishing strike rate of 256.25.

Dushan Hemantha scored 14 off nine deliveries to help Sri Lanka finish the chase, which they did in the final over, as they won by four wickets and five deliveries to spare in the first T20I in Harare.

Richard Ngarava was the most impressive Zimbabwean bowler with figures of 2 for 19 in his four overs, while skipper Raza was also handy with 2 for 26 in his four. The runs were hard to come by, but Mendis took the opportunity and smacked 26 runs in one over of Maposa, which was the 18th over, as Sri Lanka stole the game in the last few overs and comfortably won the first game of this three-match T20I series.