Sri Lanka346 and 170 for 3 (Mendis 69*, Mathews 17*, Cremer 2-67) need another 218 runs to beat Zimbabwe 356 and 377 (Raza 127, Waller 68, Herath 6-133, Perera 3-95)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Sikandar Raza’s maiden century left Sri Lanka needing to pull off the highest successful chase in the country © NurPhoto/Getty Images
Graeme Cremer stuck himself into Sri Lanka’s flesh on the fourth day, first making a stubborn 48 from No. 9, then claiming two wickets in the third session, as Zimbabwe dismissed three Sri Lankan batsmen in their defense of 388. Thanks to Cremer, Zimbabwe’s dream of a historic win against Sri Lanka are alive, but even if they are chasing a target that has never successfully been pursued on the island, the hosts are not quite out of the game yet.
At the crease is a sparkling Kusal Mendis, who has hit 60 off 85 balls so far, and has refused to let the spinners settle to him, on what has now become a slightly treacherous pitch. Alongside him stands Angelo Mathews, one of Sri Lanka’s best-ever fourth-innings batsmen. With an inexperienced Niroshan Dickwella, and an injured Asela Gunaratne to come, this, you suspect, is the partnership that will have to bloom if Sri Lanka are to score the further 218 required for victory. They have so far managed 170 for 3. The game stands tantalisingly poised.
Worryingly for the hosts, all three of their dismissals so far were brought about by significant turn. Cremer broke the opening stand that had yielded 58, tossing one up outside Upul Tharanga’s off stump, and spinning it in more sharply than Tharanga expected. The ball would take the inside edge, and pop up for a simple bat-pad catch. Later, Cremer also had Dinesh Chandimal caught at slip, luring the batsman into a forward prod, and having it take the outside edge.
The most extraordinary dismissal of the day, however, belonged to Sean Williams, who turned the ball as far anyone has managed in the game. Pitching it well wide of Dimuth Karunaratne, Williams had the ball surge back off the rough. So wide had it pitched, that Karunaratne – who had batted fluently until then – did not even bother offering a shot, and could only watch as the ball hit his off stump.
Karunaratne had set the early tone for the innings, searching intently for scoring options, which he found most easily on the legside. His 49 off 84 balls had only one boundary – a pulled four off Sikandar Raza in the fifth over. Tharanga, who had been so quick to set off in the first innings, began watchfully here, making only one run from his first 15 balls. Eventually, he began to find the boundary, and steered Sri Lanka to 56 for no loss in the company of Karunaratne, before losing his wicket in the second over after the break.
Full report to follow
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo’s Sri Lanka correspondent. @andrewffernando
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo