Masakadza guides Zimbabwe to win in warm-up

Zimbabwe 281-3 (Masakadza 117 no) beat
Sri Lanka 279-8 (Karunaratne 58) by seven wickets
World Cup warm-up game, Lincoln

Zimbabwe got off to a poor start in its chase, losing openers Chamu Chibhabha and Sikandar Raza within the first seven overs. Masakadza and captain Taylor kept the side going with a steady partnership. Angelo Mathews rotated his bowlers but to no avail. Both batsmen hit half-centuries and kept the run rate around six, taking Zimbabwe past 160 in 27 overs.

Tillakaratne Dilshan finally ended the 127-run partnership with the wicket of Taylor, but Williams ensured that the good work didn’t go to waste. With 118 runs needed from 22 overs, Williams and Masakadza upped the ante. Masakadza went past his century and remained undefeated on 117, a knock studded with eight fours and three sixes, while Williams’ 46-ball 51 included six fours. Suranga Lakmal conceded 56 runs from his seven overs while 46 runs came from Lasith Malinga’s seven wicketless overs..

Earlier, Sri Lanka opted to bat and opened with Kumar Sangakkara in place of Tillakaratne Dilshan, but the left-hander fell for just 8 to Tinashe Panyangara in the third over. Lahiru Thirimanne and Mahela Jayawardene consolidated with a 62-run stand for the second wicket but both fell for 30 in quick succession, reducing Sri Lanka to 85 for 3 in the 16th over.

The twin strikes led to a slight dip in the run rate but the pair revived Sri Lanka’s innings with 64-run partnership before Utseya dismissed Chandimal for a 46-ball 29. Karunaratne fell for 58 and Sean Williams’ left-arm spin accounted for Thisara Perera (17) and Nuwan Kulasekara (9), but Jeevan Mendis gave the innings a much-needed boost. He stroked four boundaries on his way to a run-a-ball 51 and took Sri Lanka to 260 before he became Williams’ third victim in the 48th over. Sachitra Senanayake (25 off 17) then struck a couple of sixes to take Sri Lanka to 279.