Earlier, Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bowl first. Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka got the visitors off to a good start, compiling 76 off 92 deliveries.
He forged crucial partnerships alongside Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, who made handy contributions early on in the innings.
Sri Lanka’s push for a big total was then shouldered by Janith Liyanage (70*) and Kamindu Mendis (57), who scored at a brisk rate in the death overs and took the total to 298/6.
Most hat-tricks in Men's ODIs
| Player | Hat-tricks | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Lasith Malinga | 3 | Sri Lanka |
| Wasim Akram | 2 | Pakistan |
| Chaminda Vaas | 2 | Sri Lanka |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 2 | India |
| Trent Boult | 2 | New Zealand |
| Saqlain Mushtaq | 2 | Pakistan |
| Dilshan Madushanka | 2 | Sri Lanka |
In response, Zimbabwe were pegged back by two wickets in the first over with Brian Bennett and Brendan Taylor both returning without scoring.
Ben Curran and Sean Williams then added 118 runs for the third wicket – both scoring their fifties as Zimbabwe steadied the ship.
But after they fell in quick succession, it was Zimbabwe’s star all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who took matters into his own hands.
