Twitter Reactions: Sri Lanka shatter Zimbabwe's resilience to clinch the victory on the final day at Harare

‘The great battle of resilience and temperament’ – The Harare Test culminated with batsmen of both Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka exhibiting great composure with the willow. However, the visitors emerged as winners after skipper Dimuth Karunaratne drove the ball to steer Sri Lanka to a comprehensive 10-wicket victory.

After a gritty batting performance in the first innings, Zimbabwe ensured that Sri Lanka bowling attack does not plunge misery to their batting force. However, it wasn’t enough for establishing a handsome lead over the ‘Lankan Lions’. Sri Lanka were left with 14 runs to achieve the victory and they completed the formality in a professional manner.

After the top-order trio of Masvaure, Mudzinganyama and Ervine failed to propel Zimbabwe to a stable start, it was the duo of Brendan Taylor and Sean William’s who reinforced their side’s second innings. Taylor stitched a vital 38-run knock before getting nicked to the wicketkeeper off Suranga Lakmal‘s delivery.

Skipper Sean Williams showed great character as he amassed 39 crucial runs before getting dismissed off Kasun Rajitha. Zimbabwe still had the chance to stay glued to the wicket till the end of the day. However, the hosts’ batting tail shattered like a house of cards after the skipper’s departure.

Wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva (26) and Sikandar Raza (17) raised the hopes for Zimbabwe fans by sticking at the wicket for a considerable period. However, the hosts’ second innings was wrapped up at a meagre total of 170 runs, opening the doors of victory for Dimuth Karunaratne and Co.

Angelo Mathews was awarded Player of the Match for his heroics with the willow

Sri Lanka’s bowling line-up trounced on the final day by picking up wickets at regular intervals. Suranga Lakmal emerged as the pick of their bowlers by scalping four wickets in his spell. He was assisted by Lahiru Kumara, who played a vital role in cleaning up Zimbabwe’s lower-order by scalping three wickets. Lasith Embuldeniya also joined the bandwagon by adding two dismissals to his name. Embuldeniya emerged as Sri Lanka’s best bowler in the first innings after he registered a five-wicket haul.

It was an easy task for Sri Lanka as they swiftly cruised to the target of 14 runs in no time. Angelo Mathews hogged the headlines by smashing his maiden double ton in the first innings. Mathew’s impressive knock- flaunting his temperament and technique- was a retaliation to Zimbabwe’s composed batting display in their first innings. The 32-year-old boasted his impressive Test record against the hosts to earn the Player of the Match award at Harare. Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine also turned heads in the first innings by stitching an impressive 85-run knock.

Here’s how Twitter reacted after Sri Lanka’s victory: