Zimbabwe posted a respectable total of 175 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the first T20I between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Wednesday. 

Despite losing an early wicket, Zimbabwe got off to a brisk start, though they did have a few strokes of luck along the way. 

Brian Bennett took the attack to the bowlers, with Sean Williams chipping in with a lively cameo. 

The real momentum shift came when Bennett and Sikandar Raza joined forces, punishing anything loose while smartly rotating the strike and pinching doubles to keep the fielders under pressure. 

Their 50-run stand was broken when Raza departed, but Bennett carried on unfazed, bringing up a classy half-century and stitching together another 51-run partnership with Ryan Burl. 

Bennett finished with a superb 81 off 57 deliveries, but Zimbabwe couldn’t quite find the finishing flourish they were looking for in the closing overs and had to settle for 175.

It was a mixed outing with the ball for Sri Lanka. Dushmantha Chameera struck early but the Powerplay proved expensive, while Maheesh Theekshana also chipped in with a wicket but wasn’t at his best. 

Debutant Dushan Hemantha impressed, picking up a key wicket and keeping things tight, showing plenty of promise on his first outing. Chameera was easily their standout, finishing with three wickets and delivering a brilliant spell at the death, but the rest struggled to contain the flow of runs. The chase won’t be straightforward, though, as Zimbabwe’s bowlers know these conditions well and will look to make the most of them.

Earlier, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka won the toss and opted to bowl first against Sikandar Raza’s Zimbabwe.

The visitors secured two convincing victories in the ODIs held in August and will now look to carry that momentum into the T20I series. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe will aim to deliver a stronger performance in the shorter format of the white-ball game.

--Agencies