Zim in SL: Zimbabwe chases down to level ODI series 2-2

Skipper Angelo Mathews and his men will have themselves to be blamed after Zimbabwe escaped with a 4-wicket win on Duckworth and Lewis system in their rain-affected fourth ODI here at the Sooriyawewa Cricket Stadium on Saturday (8).
 
Chasing 301 to win, Zimbabwe were 139-3 when rain halted play in the 21st over of Zimbabwe’s inning and their score was nine runs above the Duckworth/Lewis par score of 130 at that stage.

But they were given a revised target of 219 in 31 overs when play resumed an hour later. 

They needed 80 runs off the remaining ten overs which they erased comfortably with 10 balls to spare.
 
Craig Ervine was the protagonist of tourists win as he plundered a match winning 69 off 55 balls with eight boundaries and a six, despite rookie spinner Wanidu Hasaranga claiming his second three-wicket haul in the series. 

Zimbabwe had a solid start to their innings when openers Solomon Mire and Hamilton Mazakadza put on 67 runs inside 10 overs to lay the foundation.
 
The defeat was a bitter pill to stomach for the hosts who were eyeing for a series clinching win ahead of Monday’s fifth and final ODI. Sri Lanka’s recent record across all formats have been mediocre and were looking for a convincing win to boost their confidence and that of the disheartened fans ahead of the grueling Indian series later this month.
 
With the series now levelled at 2-2, the pressure will be on hosts as they approach the series decider on Monday (10) to win their first series in 12 months. 

Sri Lanka’s last series win came against Ireland in June last year.
 
Electing to bat first, Sri Lankan openers were on song for the second time in a row, sharing a world record double century stand for the opening wicket, laying a solid foundation for what would have been an imposing total.  
 
But Sri Lanka wasted the momentum and managed just 91 runs off the last 14.4 overs to restrict themselves to 300 for 6.
                                                                  
Niroshan Dickwella, who scored his second back-to-back century, shared 209 for the opening wicket with Danushka Gunathilaka to become only the first pair in ODI history to share two double century stands in a row.  

They scored 229 in the third game against Zimbabwe which Sri Lanka won by 8-wickets.

Skipper Angelo Mathews promoted himself up the order and made 42 off 40 balls while Upul Tharanga hit 22 off 20. 

Chris Mpofu and Malcolm Waller took two wickets each.

Sri Lanka 300 for 6 wickets (50) (Niroshan Dickwella 116, Danushka Gunathilaka 87, Angelo Mathews 42, Upul Tharanga 22, Wanindu Hasaranga 19n.o, Malcolm Waller 2/44, Chris Mpofu 2/61) 

Zimbabwe 219 for 6 wickets (29.2) (Hamilton Masakadza 28, Solomon Mire 43, Tarisai Musakanda 30, Craig Ervine 69n.o, Malcolm Waller 20, Wanindu Hasaranga 3/40)