Published: Nov 07, 2016, 11:30 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 07, 2016, 08:34 PM (IST)
Good Afternoon, Goeie More, සුභ උදෑසනක්! Hello, and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of Day 2 of the second and final Test between hosts Zimbabwe and visitors Sri Lanka, at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday. I Rohan Sawant will bring to you the live updates from this match. Sri Lanka are definitely in the driver’s seat after the second Test century from Dhanajaya de Silva and the knock of 79 runs from Upul Tharanga. On the other hand, as they lead the two-Test series, by a margin of 255 runs, while the Zimbabweans would be in a desperate attempt to win this tie and level things up to save themselves from an embarrassment, especially by losing a Test series at home, and put their Test status in jeopardy. Full Cricket Scorecard: Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test at Harare
Sri Lanka started off really well as they got off to a great and positive start with both their openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva looking positive from the very first ball. They both went on to give 62 runs stand for the first wicket but Hamilton Masakadza struck in quick succession to get Zimbabwe back in the game. He removed Karunaratne and No. 3 walked in batsman Kusal Perera to make the score 66 for the loss of 2 wickets. Masakadza then struck in his next over when Kusal Perera’s decision to attack the seamer from the start of his innings backfired horribly, as he holed out to long-on. Mumba was able to return to the field soon after, but it was fellow fast bowler Mpofu who struck before lunch when he trapped Kaushal Silva lbw for 37. Although Silva asked for a review, he took too long to do so and so his request was denied. Hawk-Eye showed that the delivery from Mpofu would have missed leg stump.
Sri Lanka went to lunch on 105 for three and were in trouble soon after the interval when Kusal Mendis edged Donald Tiripano behind to depart for 26. At 112 for four, Sri Lanka were under pressure for the first time in the series but Tharanga and De Silva were unperturbed.
The pair were content to take a patient approach as the pitch flattened out and Zimbabwe tightened up their bowling, seeing Sri Lanka through to tea on 187 for four. “We started off badly in the first session, but I think we pulled it back quite nicely as the day wore on,” said Masakadza. “We would have been happier with one or two more wickets, but I think after the start that we had, we’ll take it.”
Teams:
Zimbabwe: Tino Mawoyo, Brian Chari, Hamilton Masakadza, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Malcolm Waller, Peter Moor (wk), Graeme Cremer (c), Donald Tiripano, Carl Mumba, Chris Mpofu.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Perera (wk), Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Asela Gunaratne, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath (c), Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara.
