Angelo Mathews Shines as Sri Lanka Clinches Thrilling Victory over Zimbabwe in 1st T20I

Sri Lanka pulled off a thrilling three-wicket win over Zimbabwe in a last ball thriller in the first Twenty20 international held in Colombo on Sunday. Requiring six runs off the last two balls, tail-ender Dushmantha Chameera smashed a boundary off the penultimate ball. Then, he pushed the last ball to square leg, scampering for two runs to keep Sri Lanka’s unbeaten record against Zimbabwe in T20 Internationals intact.

Sri Lanka owed this victory to the exceptional performance of 36-year-old former captain Angelo Mathews, who played his first T20 International in almost three years and emerged as the top scorer with 46 runs. Mathews, last seen in a T20 international in March 2021, was recalled to strengthen the Sri Lankan team with experienced players ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup. At 51 for four, Mathews walked out to bat and added 32 runs off 39 balls for the fifth wicket alongside Charith Asalanka.

Mathews’ innings proved to be a crucial rebuilding period for Sri Lanka. However, their progress was quickly stalled when Sikandar Raza took two wickets in his final over, reducing Sri Lanka to 83 for six.