Rangana Herath overtakes Malcolm Marshall and Ian Botham

Zimbabwe had a good time in Sri Lanka. They offered the spectators some heroic performances in the 5-match ODI series. Despite trailing 2-1, the men in red went on to seal it by a margin of 3-2. After the ODIs, they performed well in the only Test match as well. Unfortunately for them, Asela Gunarat and Niroshan Dickwella spoiled their party.

Zimbabwe played well both with the bat and the ball. Sri Lanka had a total of 388 to chase and were struggling at 203/5. With the big guns back in the pavilion, the hosts were heading toward another humiliation. But that was not to be as Dickwella and Gunaratne were not ready to surrender and brought them back into the match, It is due to the 121-run sixth wicket partnership that the Lankans are saved from another defeat.

But it was a spirited performance from Zimbabwe nonetheless. The away side’s skipper Graeme Cremer has blamed the team’s inexperience for the loss. “Disappointing but credit to Sri Lanka, to chase 380 on a day-five pitch is pretty special. So credit to them, but credit to our guys as well. The way the guys fought and got the runs on the board and pushed Sri Lanka till the last day was great. We don’t play enough Test cricket, so it’s hard sometimes making decisions out there, but there is a lot to learn from this Test match. The one-day series is a high point for us, we brought that confidence into the Test match and it gave us the belief that we could push the big teams,” he said.

Sri Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal has rightfully given the credit to the Dickwella-Gunaratne duo for the victory. “It’s been a really good five days, so credit goes to all the players, they stuck to the plans and went there and did their best. It’s always tough when you’re batting in the fourth innings but I told the team that they should play their normal game and they played some outstanding innings, especially Dickwella and Asela,” he said.

Herath goes past Malcolm Marshall and Ian Botham

Veteran Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath was adjudged as the player of the series for picking up 11 wickets in the only game. With this match winning spell, Herath now has picked up more Test wickets than Malcolm Marshall and Ian Botham. “I know I have bowled a lot of overs, but when you still enjoy playing cricket, I wouldn’t mind bowling more in future. Good to hear that I went past those guys. Overall, this Test match was very good. They were playing sweeps and reverse sweeps, which made it hard for us. But we played better than Zimbabwe, that is why we are here,” said the jubilant spinner.