Rangana Herath Takes five; Zimbabwe Fold for 272
Sri Lanka 504 (Dhananjaya 127, Gunaratne 116) and 13 for no loss lead Zimbabwe 272 (Chari 80, Ervine 64, Williams 58, Herath 5-89) by 245 runs
It was no secret that Zimbabwe would be bombarded with spin. It was also no secret that they were susceptible to it. That Sri Lanka had in their ranks a master tactician in Rangana Herath, also their stand-in captain, was cause for a guarded approach. But a familiar script played out after lunch as the indiscretions in shot selection continued to hamper the hosts, who lost five wickets for 19 runs to fold for 272 in the second session on day three.
Sri Lanka, having gained a 232-run lead, chose not to enforce the follow-on. Herath, who took 5 for 89, became just the third bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan and Dale Steyn to pick up five-wicket hauls against all Test nations. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva then played out seven stress-free overs, as Sri Lanka went into tea on 13 without loss.
Craig Ervine and Sean Williams, the two left-handers who had the advantage of blunting Herath with the spin rather than against it, scored half-centuries in an otherwise shallow batting performance that was also somewhat lifted by Brian Chari’s flashy 80, a majority of which was accrued on day two courtesy a hit-out approach to spin.
But to give just Herath all the credit for Zimbabwe’s downfall wouldn’t be doing justice to his team-mates. Dilruwan Perera, the offspinner, exploited the rough to pick three wickets, while right-arm seamer Suranga Lakmal had two. All the bowlers were supported by an agile slip cordon that hung on to tough chances.
Williams was the first to fall in the session when a premeditated cheeky paddle resulted in him being trapped leg before. Given not-out, Sri Lanka’s prudent use of the DRS led to the wicket as replays showed the impact was on off stump. Then, Graeme Cremer, fresh off a maiden Test ton last week, attempted a flashy drive to a delivery that drifted away as Dimuth Karunaratne snaffled a reflex-action catch at slip.
Peter Moor, among those who negotiated Herath without any hassles, then set about taking the faster bowlers on at the other end, effortlessly cutting and whipping through Lahiru Kumara’s short-ball burst. A lazy across-the-line whip off a Diruwan arm-ball resulted in him being trapped plumb in front of middle. The last two wickets were mere formality, with Carl Mumba and Donald Tiripano’s defense being exposed. Mumba was lbw to an in-drifter from Herath, while Tiripano’s wild slog resulted in a low catch to Herath at mid-on to cap off a collapse.
If spin sent them into a tizzy in the second session, pacers hampered Zimbabwe’s progress early in the day. Craig Ervine, who constructed a sturdy half-century last night, was the first to fall this morning when he nicked to the slips. His partner, Brian Chari, who significantly mellowed down after a manic start last evening, kept stabbing forward with his bat well in front of the pad. But, batting on 80, he missed an arm ball from Herath that sneaked through to hit the stumps.
If there was an example on how not to approach left-arm spin, this was probably a fine one. Zimbabwe kept stabbing away for the turn, only to realise the ball kept going straight on. One wicket was all it took, however, for doubts to creep into the batsmen’s minds as a measured approach gave way to attempts to throw the bowlers off, one that could cost them yet another Test match.
Courtesy : espncricinfo
