(Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail)
Pathum Nissanka Century Guides Sri Lanka to Series Win Over Zimbabwe
Harare: Pathum Nissanka’s brilliant century powered Sri Lanka to a five-wicket victory against Zimbabwe in the second One-Day International (ODI) on Sunday, sealing a 2-0 series win.
The 27-year-old opener scored a commanding 122 off 136 balls, including 16 fours. His partnership of 90 runs with skipper Charith Asalanka (71) proved decisive as Sri Lanka successfully chased Zimbabwe’s total of 277-7 with three balls to spare, finishing at 278-5.
Match Highlights
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Nissanka’s Knock: His seventh ODI century earned him both the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards, after also scoring 76 runs in the opening match.
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Asalanka’s Support: The captain’s 71-run innings stabilized Sri Lanka’s chase.
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Zimbabwe’s Effort: Ben Curran (79) and Sikandar Raza (59 not out) anchored Zimbabwe’s innings, while Dushmantha Chameera led the Sri Lankan bowling attack with figures of 3-52.
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Key Bowling: Richard Ngarava (2-53) and Brad Evans (2-54) were the best among Zimbabwe’s bowlers.
Captains’ Reactions
Nissanka expressed relief at returning to form:
“It has been a while since I scored big runs in ODIs, so I am happy I could deliver for the team,” he said.
Zimbabwe skipper Sean Williams admitted the series could have been closer:
“The series could easily have been 1-1. We had our chances,” he noted.
Series Outcome
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Result: Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets
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Series: Sri Lanka clinched the series 2-0
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Player of the Match: Pathum Nissanka
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Player of the Series: Pathum Nissanka
