Sri Lanka’s fast man Dilshan Madushanka bowled his heart out to a last gasp final over dream hat-trick in a dramatic final over finish to the first ODI the left-arm quick swinging it Sri Lanka’s way in a truly historically significant stellar rollercoaster dream come true personal triumph ideally portraying the script of the adage, ‘Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man’, to stopping the hosts in their tracks when well on course to 10 runs short of a famous win with four wickets intact and the sixth wicket pair of Sikandar Raza in his 90s and Tony Munyonga in his 40s going full guns blazing in a 128 sixth wicket partnership that had threatened to take the game away from the Lankans yesterday at the Harare Sports Grounds.
Zimbabwe had scented victory needing10 from the last over. But the Lankan seamer stepped in to destroy the high flowing Raza-Munyonga onslaught that had taken the breath out of the Lankans and with it an incredible triumph by the hosts that would have been a huge shot in the arm to raising sa flagging ODI image.
The 24-year old fast man discovered from Sri Lanka’s down South Hambantota where cricket and tourism bubbles in a paradise of its own as a recreational haven for tourists where beach cricket thrives, entered yesterday’s final bout of the show with a reputation discovered to the game as a thunderbolt with the ball in his hand.
But a 3 year career having debuted against India in January 2023 in Gawahati, had undergone the good and bad, and coming up against Zimbabwe was by large an ultimate test of his future following a decline since claiming a record 21 second best tally of wickets at the 2023 World Cup in England notwithstanding the negativity that Sri Lanka was blown out of the extravaganza.
Indeed, the youngster’s willpower of a Lionheart to bend his back did prevail in that hat-trick pay off first shattering Sikandar Raza’s middle stump for 92 and following up having Brad Evans caught before breaking the stumps of Richard Ngarava. An exhibition of fast bowling bordering on sheer speed that was to ultimately make the difference between victory and defeat.
He conceded just two singles from his final three deliveries, as Zimbabwe fell short of their target of 299 on 291-8.
Madushanka finished with a 4 for 62 haul, becoming the eighth Sri Lanka bowler to take a hat-trick in ODIs.
In retrospect, Raza had been on the verge g recover from 161-5 after 30 overs by his128-run partnership with Tony Munyonga unbeaten on 43.
Right up in the innings, Asitha Fernando, with a 3 for 50 haul had reduced Zimbabweto 0 for 2 accounting for Brian Bennett and Brendan Taylor for ducks before a third wicket rescuing 118 between Ben Curran (70) and captain Sean Williams (57).
The Sri Lankan innings also revolved around two century partnerships, with Pathum Nissanka (76) and Kusal Mendis (38) scoring exactly 100 in a third-wicket pairing.
The visitors then slipped to 161-5 as Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka were dismissed by successive deliveries, but Janith Liyanage (70 not out) and Kamindu Mendis (57) blasted 137 from the last 14 overs.
Mendis was bowled by Ngarava’s final ball of the innings, but Madushanka’s heroics ensured Sri Lanka’s score of 298-6 was slightly too much for Zimbabwe to chase.
Sri Lanka went 1-0 up in the two-match series, with a T20 series of three games to follow.