Friday 27 / December / 2024
Colombo : Sri Lanka spin sensation Wanindu Hasaranga took 7/19 in his return to international cricket as Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 8 wickets in the rain-affected third ODI on Thursday.
Hasaranga came on in the ninth over of the reduced 27-over match and claimed the wicket of Takudzwanashe Kaitano with the final ball of his first over before taking another three scalps in his next two overs.
Zimbabwe struggled to play the googly as the spinner went on to take three of the final four wickets to restrict the visitors to just 96 in 22.5 overs. Joylord Gumbie (29 in 34 balls, with four boundaries) was the top scorer for Zimbabwe.
SL chased it down with ease, with skipper Kusal Mendis (66* in 51 balls with nine fours and a six) scoring a half-century and sealing an eight-wicket win.
The figures are the second-best by a Sri Lanka bowler with Chaminda Vaas's 8/19, against the same opposition 23 years ago, the best in men's ODI history.
Glenn McGrath's 7/15 remains the best figure in an ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
The two teams next play a three-match T20I series starting January 14 in Colombo. SL has won the three-match ODI series 2-0, with the first one not being able to produce a result.
