Today in this blog, we discussed Matthews stars as Sri Lanka clinchs a last-ball thriller against Zimbabwe. With the help of an incredible three-wicket performance from Angelo Mathews and a nerve-wracking finale from Dushmantha Chameera. Sri Lanka defeated Zimbabwe in the inaugural Twenty20 International on Sunday in Colombo.
Playing his first T20I in nearly three years. Mathews walked to the crease with Sri Lanka struggling to reach a modest total of 144. The former captain scored 46 off 38 balls with five fours and a six, demonstrating his class and expertise. He formed strong alliances with Charith Asalanka (32 off 39) and Dasun Shanaka (26 not out of 18) to keep Sri Lanka competitive.
Sikandar Raza, the captain of Zimbabwe, had a strong overall performance as they responded with some excellent fielding and bowling. After being put to bat, Raza amassed a brilliant 62 off 42 balls to lead Zimbabwe to 143 for seven. After that, he claimed three vital wickets to give Zimbabwe a chance to win, including Mathews in the last over.
Matthews scored two boundaries off the first two balls from Blessing Muzarabani, but he holed out deep in the fourth ball, leaving Sri Lanka six runs short of the target with two balls remaining. At that point, 14 runs were needed off the final over. The No. 9 batter, Chameera, then completed an exciting victory for the hosts by smashing a top edge over the keeper for four runs and scampering for two more off the final ball.
Sri Lanka grabbed a 1-0 lead in the three-match series and kept their perfect record against Zimbabwe in Twenty20 Internationals. The same location will host the second Twenty20 International on Tuesday.
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