Twitter Reactions: Kusal Mendis century gives Sri Lanka series triumph
Mendis stayed unbeaten on 116 off 233. with 13 fours and a six
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After a massive scare, Sri Lanka managed to evade a defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the second Test at the Harare Sports Club. At the close of play on the fourth day, the home team had a realistic chance of rolling over Lanka and draw level in the series. However, the Islanders’ batters showed tremendous grit and resilience and the visitors went on to win the two-match series 1-0.
Mendis and Fernando hold ground
Zimbabwe, pretty surprisingly, played only a solitary delivery on the last day before they declared at 247 for seven. Sean Williams, the hosts’ skipper, smacked Suranga Lakmal for a six and then called it off. Most importantly, the Lankans were set with a huge target of 361. The visitors didn’t get off to a great start as fast bowler Carl Mumba found Dimuth Karunaratne’s outside edge in the 14th over.
But Oshada Fernando and Kusal Mendis ensured that Lanka went to lunch with only one wicket down. Both batters were on the verge of hard-fought half-centuries going into the break. The duo eventually went on to stitch together an 81-run stand to make Zimbabwe work hard for their wickets. But in the first over of the second session, Sikandar Raza trapped Fernando, who made 47.
Mendis comes to the party
Angelo Mathews put his head down for 69 balls before Victor Nyauchi pinned him. The Lankans still had a fair distance to travel in order to save the Test. At the other end, Mendis was in no mood to throw his wicket away. The right-hander looked unflappable and got to his fifty off 90 balls. Then he went on to score his century off 193 deliveries to make sure that Lanka don’t concede the match.
He stayed unbeaten on 116 off 233 with the help of 13 fours and one six. Dinesh Chandimal also spent 102 minutes in the middle for his 13 that came off 75 balls. For Zimbabwe, Raza turned out to be the work-horse. The off-spinner sent down 32 overs, but could only manage one wicket. Among the rest, Donald Tiripano and skipper Williams bowled 16 overs each without any success.
Here’s how Twitterati reacted to Lanka’s series win: –
Wonderfully unorthodox captaincy from @sean14williams, ring of catching fielders *in front* of the batsman, and right in his eyeline #ZimvSL pic.twitter.com/tSACntmmez
— Liam Brickhill (@Gomorezvidinha) January 31, 2020
Congratulations to Sri Lanka on winning the Test series 1-0. Outstanding 116* from the 24-year-old Kusal Mendis, 4th inns Test centuries are always tough. Zimbabwe were outstanding. Mathews, DDS were magnificent in series. Dimuth's captaincy excellent. #Cricket #ZIMvSL
— Daniel Alexander (@daniel86cricket) January 31, 2020
Draw in Harare and Sri Lanka won the test series but Zimbabwe has gained lots of positives through the test series. It is never easy coming back after the ban but seniors backed the side and they had given a tough fight to Lanks. Well done, 🇿🇼. #ZIMvSL
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 31, 2020
Players taking a 7-wicket haul and scoring 100+ runs in the same test match:-
Jack Gregory vs ENG, 1920
Ian Botham vs PAK, 1978
Ian Botham vs IND, 1980
Ian Botham vs WI, 1984
R Ashwin vs WI, 2016
Sikandar Raza vs SL, 2020#ZIMvSL— Kausthub (@kaustats) January 30, 2020
Sri Lanka with trophy after winning the test series by 1-0.#ZIMvSL pic.twitter.com/rIYNHncDpv
— mojo (@dundee_24) January 31, 2020
Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 406 & 247/7d
Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 293 & 204/3
Match drawn, Sri Lanka won the series 1-0
Player of the match : Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)
Player of the series : Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)
2ndTest #ZIMvSL 🏏 pic.twitter.com/p3XpiFucAt— Ishara Isuru 🏏⚽️🏉 (@Ishisuru1) January 31, 2020
Angelo Mathews is man of the series for his double century in 1st test.#ZIMvSL pic.twitter.com/LjPOOYyXcF
— mojo (@dundee_24) January 31, 2020
Disappointing draw for Zimbabwe in the second test, but lots of positives to be drawn from this series.
Debutants held their on in the 1st test while the experienced players showed their class in the 2nd test.
Bring on Bangladesh.#ZimvSL
— Mr Tich (@Mr_Tich) January 31, 2020
2nd Test, Day 5,
Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka,
Match DRAWN & Sri Lanka win 2 match series 1-0.
SL 2nd inns. 204/3.
Kusal Mendis 116*(233),
Oshada Fernando 47(108)
vs Zimbabwe 🏏#ZimvSL @ZimCricketv #Zimbabwe #zimbabweans @OfficialSLC #SriLanka #TestCricket #Cricket— Mayur Baruah (@BaruahMayur) January 31, 2020
Unbeaten 116 by @KusalMendis1 secures a series victory for SLC #ZimvSL
— Irosh Jayarathna 🇱🇰 (@IroshJ) January 31, 2020
#ZIMvSL | Match Drawn
Sri Lanka take the series 1-0 🤩
Arw you happy with the lads' performances today?
More: https://t.co/0Txh3mfSOa pic.twitter.com/PjWR1FBiEO
— ThePapare.com (@ThePapareSports) January 31, 2020
Sri Lanka with trophy after winning the test series by 1-0.#ZIMvSL pic.twitter.com/rIYNHncDpv
— mojo (@dundee_24) January 31, 2020
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