Janith Liyanage played a brilliant knock to help Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by two wickets in the second ODI in Colombo.

SL vs ZIM, 2nd ODI: Highlights

With this win, Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Having won the toss, Craig Ervine elected to bat first in Colombo. However, it was the hosts who got off to a flyer as Tinashe Kamunhukamwe lost his wicket in the third ball of the game. Wicket-keeping batter Joylord Gumble and Ervine then stitched a 60-run stand to get their team out of trouble, before Maheesh Theekshana castled Gumble after scoring 30 runs off 36 balls.

Ervine kept going at the other end and formed a 53-run partnership with Milton Shumba, before the latter was sent packing by Theekshana as he claimed his second wicket of the day. Shumba scored 26 runs off 45 deliveries, hitting two boundaries.

Zimbabwe’s T20I skipper Sikandar Raza couldn’t impact the game with the bat, departing after scoring one run. Then, Ryan Burl partnered up with Ervine to take his side past the 150-run mark. Ervine scored 82 runs off 122 balls, smashing nine boundaries and a solitary six.

Soon Burl followed his captain back to the pavilion having been cleaned by pacer Dushmantha Chameera after scoring 31 runs off 37 deliveries. Theekshana and Jeffrey Vandersay cleaned up Zimbabwe’s remaining batting order to bundle them out for 208 runs in 44.4 overs.

Theekshana was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, picking four wickets while giving away just 31 runs in 9.4 overs.

Chasing a modest total, Sri Lanka were given an early wake-up call by Richard Ngarawa. The left-arm pacer first dismissed Avishka Fernando in the fifth ball of the second inning, before Sadeera Samarawickrama back in his next over. He then dismissed captain Kusal Mendis and all-rounder Charith Asalanka to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 53 for 4.

Following the early dismissals, Liyanage formed an important partnership with Sahan Arachchige to steer the hosts out of trouble. Arachchige departed after scoring 39-ball 21 at the hands of Raza, who struck again, this time to remove Dasun Shanaka to reduce Sri Lanka to 112 for 6 in 30.5 overs.

Despite the mounting pressure, Liyanage stitched a crucial 56-run partnership with Theekshana to get Sri Lanka back in the contest. Theekshana was dismissed after scoring 18 runs before Liyanage was sent packing in the 43rd over by Blessing Muzarbani.

Then, Chameera and Vandersay displayed grit and control, remaining unbeaten on 18 runs each, to guide their side to a nail-biting two-wicket win in the 49th over.

With this win, Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series, with the first match washed out due to rain. The two sides will clash in the third and final match of the series on Thursday, January 11 in Colombo.