Solomon Mire’s first love wasn't cricket

In a series of firsts, the underdogs of International cricket, Zimbabwe shocked the entire cricketing world with a record win over Sri Lanka on 1st of July 2017. In the 1st ODI played at the Galle International Stadium, the man who stole the show was 28-year-old Solomon Mire who thrashed the powerful Lankans with his maiden ODI hundred smashing 112 off mere 96 balls which included 14 flawless boundaries covering almost every corner of the ground.

Though he might have won an unlikely game for his team, but cricket was not Mire’s first love. He wanted to become a pilot but eventually moved away from aeroplanes to pursue a career in cricket and would’ve been a huge moment for the right-hander when he guided his team to a win.

The dream

Talking about his childhood aspiration the Zimbabwean said, “That was my desire when I finished my school. A lot has happened since then,” he was quoted by KashmirTimes minutes after the 1st ODI.

He was quick to realise that a career in aviation and as a sportsperson cannot run parallel and thus decided to give up on his dream of flying. “Fortunately or unfortunately I moved away from planes after I realized I would struggle to make it work time wise with cricket,” Mire said.

Not only did Zimbabwe win the game he was also awarded the Man of the Match for his century. “It’s hard to describe how I feel but it’s around ecstatic and very happy and obviously to a certain extend subdued to the fact that there’s still a series to play for but really happy to have contributed to team success and in the process reach a personal milestone,” he said about the win and the award.

Highest successful chase

Sri Lanka who batted first really did a commendable job to post 316 on the board with Kusal Mendis & Upul Tharanga scoring 86 & 79 respectively while opener Danushka Gunathillaka chipped in with a solid 60 off just 77 balls at the top of the order. Tharanga also completed 6000 ODI runs en-route his quick 79.

A target of 317 to chase and especially if you are Zimbabwe almost seems out of range but the Graeme Cremer’s boys were in a different zone altogether as opener Solomon confidently smashed the bowlers to craft his maiden ODI hundred while the 3rd wicket partnership of 161 runs with Sean Williams (65) set the tone for the game.

Once he departed the two senior batsmen in the team Sikandar Raza 67* and Malcolm Weller 40* wrapped up the chase in style for their team. It was Zimbabwe’s 1st ODI win on Sri Lankan soil and also the first time any team successfully chased down a score in excess of 300 in Sri Lanka.

– Written by Haineel Shah