Zimbabwe edged out Sri Lanka by three wickets in the fifth one-day international on Monday to clinch their first overseas triumph in eight years.
Taking the series 3-2, the 11th-ranked Zimbabwe team also registered their first series win in the South Asian nation.
Off-spinner Sikandar Raza claimed three wickets in Hambantota to restrict the hosts to 203-8 after Zimbabwe elected to field first. He then anchored a tense chase with an unbeaten 27 as the visitors won with 71 balls to spare.
HISTORY! Zimbabwe survive a nervous chase to beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets and win the #SLvZim ODI series 3-2! pic.twitter.com/SeEQ0ijy8M
— ICC (@ICC) July 10, 2017
Congratulations @ZimCricketv on a sensational victory. Beating SL in SL is not easy. Hope this is a beginning of a new rise for Zim.#SLvZIM
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 10, 2017
The last time Zimbabwe won an ODI series agst a Test side, other than Bangladesh: bt N Zealand in NZ 2-1 in January 2001, 16 yrs ago#SLvZIM
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) July 10, 2017
Zimbabwe opener Hamilton Masakadza top-scored with a fluent 73 before rookie Sri Lankan off-spinner Akila Dananjaya struck back with four wickets to rattle the visitor’s middle-order.
Zimbabwe slipped from 137-1 to 175-7 — losing six wickets for 38 runs, but Raza and skipper Graeme Cremer hung on for an unbeaten 29-run stand as the perennial underdogs of world cricket erupted in celebrations.
Sri Lanka suffered early on from a lack of partnerships but opener Danushka Gunathilaka (52) and Asela Gunaratne (59 not out) hit gritty half-centuries to steady the home side, though it was not enough to stop an inspired Zimbabwe.
Feature image: ICC