Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe will meet in the third SL vs ZIM T20I on Thursday, January 18. The match begins at 7:00 pm IST with both teams aiming to win the decider in Colombo.
The series began with a three-match ODI series with Sri Lanka winning the series 2-0. Wanindu Hasaranga, the SL T20I skipper, recorded his career-best ODI figures of 7/19 to lead the hosts to a series win.
Sri Lanka bounced back with a win in the first T20I in Colombo to take the lead in the three-match series. Luke Jongwe’s heroics then ensured Zimbabwe won the second T20I and took the series to the decider. This was Zimbabwe’s first ever T20I win against the Islanders.
Zimbabwe, chasing 174 to win, needed 200 to win in the final, with Jongwe and Clive Madande (15*) taking the team over the finish line. ODI captain Craig Ervine initially led Zimbabwe’s chase. Sikandar Raza, the T20I captain, scored just 8 points in this must-win clash. Ultimately, it was the 33-run stand between Jongwe and Madande that took Zimbabwe over the finish line.
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Zimbabwe’s win in the second T20I was the perfect decider in Colombo. The hosts were challenged by the African nation in the T20I series. They were clearly outplayed in the first two games. Zimbabwe made life difficult for the SL batters, who won the first T20I by three wickets in the 20th over.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Board led by Chief Selector Upul Tharanga appointed three different captains for three different formats. Dhananjaya de Silva has been named the new Test captain, Kusal Mendis the ODI captain and Wanindu Hasaranga the new T20I captain.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, is led by Sikandar Raza. He also has experienced players to fall back on. Craigb Ervine, Sean Williams, Blessing Musarabani, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe and Richard Ngarava form the core of the Zimbabwe squad. Zimbwwe had no win against Sri Lanka before the start of the T20I series and now has a potential chance to win the SL vs ZIM T20I series.
Talking about SL vs ZIM, both teams have played 64 ODIs with the Lankans winning 49 games and the Zimbabweans winning 12. Zimbabwe finally won their first T20I against Sri Lanka by winning the second T20I. In five T20Is between the two teams, Sri Lanka have won four and Zimbabwe one. ZImbwbe is yet to win a test match against Sri Lanka.
SL vs ZIM Head-to-Head Records Overall Statistics
| format | matches | Sri Lanka won | Zimbabwe won | Draw/Abandoned/NR |
| Check | 20 | 14 | – | 6 |
| ODI | 64 | 49 | 12 | 3 |
| T20I | 5 | 4 | 1 | – |
| In total | 88 | 66 | 13 | 8th |
SL vs ZIM head-to-head records in T20Is
| Games played | 5 |
| Sri Lanka won | 4 |
| Zimbabwe won | 1 |
| Bound | 0 |
| No result found | 0 |
| SL gain % | 80% |
| ZIM profit % | 20% |
| Played first | 2008 |
| Last played on | 2024 |
SL vs ZIM head-to-head records in ODIs
| Games played | 64 |
| Sri Lanka won | 49 |
| Zimbabwe won | 12 |
| Bound | 0 |
| No result found | 3 |
| SL gain % | 76.56% |
| ZIM profit % | 18.75% |
| Played first | 1992 |
| Last played on | 2024 |
SL vs ZIM head-to-head records in tests
| Games played | 20 |
| Sri Lanka won | 14 |
| Zimbabwe won | – |
| Bound | – |
| Drawn | 6 |
| SL gain % | 70% |
| ZIM profit % | – |
| Pull % | 30% |
| Played first | 1994 |
| Last played on | 2020 |
SL vs ZIM Head-to-Head Records in T20Is – 3rd T20I, 2024
- Games played – 5
- Sri Lanka won – 4
- Zimbabwe won – 1
- Most runs for Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews – 182
- Most wickets for Sri Lanka: Ajatha Mendis-6
- Most runs for Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza-70
- Most wickets for Zimbabwe: Blessing Muzarabani-4
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