SL v ZIM, One-off Test, Day 3 Review: Sikandar Raza gives Zimbabwean the advantage

Before the Test match commenced, experts believed “Sri Lanka are heavily dependent on Rangana Herath” and it has just proved to be an understatement. Well, with 3 days done and dusted, it’s the left-arm spinner who is doing the job for his team. But just when Sri Lanka were about to finish off Zimbabwe, Sikandar Raza (97 batting off 158 balls) came to the rescue and once again, this Test match is back on level terms.

An aggressive batting display from Raza and Malcolm Waller (57 batting off 76 balls) stunned the hosts, who once reduced their opponents to 23/4. Zimbabwe eventually earned a second innings lead of 262 runs and at stumps, finished at 252 for the loss of 7 wickets in 68 overs.

Sri Lanka began with an overnight score of 293/7 and had Gunaratne (45 off 110 balls) and Herath (22 in 30 balls) at the crease and the duo tried to bat for as long as possible. They indeed showed great spirit and stuck in there for some time but Herath finally gave his wicket away after some peculiar incidents had unfolded.

The 39-year-old was first given out lbw off Sean Williams, but thanks to DRS, Herath survived a scare. The very next ball, a nothing shot from the southpaw coming down the ground gave Chakabva the chance to stump him. Skipper Graeme Creemer inflicted further pain on the hosts and picked up a five-fer, adding two more to the three he picked yesterday. Sri Lanka were bundled out for 346 runs, giving a slender 10-run lead to the visitors.

All hail the wizard – Rangana Herath!

A 10-run lead ain’t going to make a hell of a difference and it’d be fair to say the game was evenly poised at this point. But within a span of 90 minutes after the commencement of Zimbabwe’s second innings, the Lankans were marching their way through to glory.

Herath first cleaned up Regis Chakabva with an absolute scorcher in the 3rd over of the innings and from then on, the batters were caught in his stranglehold and danced according to the left-armer’s tunes. In his next over, Musakanda edged it to slips and Karunaratne made no mistakes in grabbing the opportunity.

Masakadza was then caught plumb in front of the stumps as he attempted an audacious sweep of a full delivery, which went underneath everything and struck his pads. He reviewed it instantly only to see three reds against him and Herath had 3 wickets in his first 3 overs. Dilruwan Perera soon joined the party and dismissed the centurion in the first innings Craig Ervine, which left Zimbabwe reeling at 23 for the loss of 4 wickets.

Herath was going nuts with every passing over and Sean Williams (22), who had faced the music for almost 10 overs, had finally given up and was baffled with an absolute peach which sent the bails on an aerial flight. Sri Lanka were cruising and the visitors were falling apart, but what followed next was something out of the blue.

Sensational fight back from Raza, Moor and Waller

Sikandar Raza then stitched a crucial partnership with wicketkeeper Peter Moor (40 off 89 balls) which stopped the flow of wickets for some time. The best thing about their partnership was that the runs came at a good pace, all thanks to Raza. Moor offered some explicit display of defensive batting and he managed to get the better of the Lankan spinners and their tricks.

The 31-year-old on the other side kept punishing every ball which was off target and the scoreboard was moving quite well. The duo took Zimbabwe past the hundred run mark and Raza completed a well-deserved half century in the 37th over. Moor’s resistance finally was brought to an end by Lahiru Kumara and that was the last occasion on Day 3 when the Lankans smiled.

Just the way Waller took charge aggressively right from the beginning, he was all over the bowlers yet again. There was nothing streaky about his strokes as they left his willow with a beautiful sound coming off it. The spinners and the speedsters, everyone started leaking runs as both Raza and Waller set themselves up for something big.

Waller completed an outstanding fifty with a muscular drive crossing the mid-off fencing. The bowlers failed to have any impact on Raza, but the cramps had other ideas. Though it was nothing serious, Raza and Waller saw the day through and put Zimbabwe in command as they now have a 262-run lead. If Zimbabwe goes on to win this, it will most certainly be one of the greatest comebacks of all time.

Brief Scores

Zimbabwe first innings: 356 all out

Sri Lanka first innings: 346 all out in 102.3 overs(Tharanga 71, Chandimal 55, Cremer 5/125)

Zimbabwe second innings: 252/6 (Peter Moor 40, Sikandar Raza 97*, Waller 57 batting, Herath 4/85)