Home > Cricket Breaking News > ZIM v SL Series 2025 2nd ODI: Nissanka’s Ton, Sri Lanka Clinch Series By 2 0
ZIM v SL Series 2025 2nd ODI: Nissanka’s Ton, Sri Lanka Clinch Series By 2-0
Updated - 1-SEP-2025 5:47 IST
In the ongoing ODI series against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka has maintained its winning streak, winning the second game to establish an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The visitors outperformed the hosts in every area of the match, which was held at the Harare Sports Club, demonstrating the disparity in skill between the two teams.
Match Summary
Sri Lanka’s Strong Batting Display
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka chose to bat first and established a solid base. The openers started cautiously but picked up speed as the weather improved. With a fluid half-century, Pathum Nissanka led the innings, and Kusal Mendis contributed significant runs in the middle order. The cameo came from Charith Asalanka, who hit boundaries in the last overs to take Zimbabwe's total out of its comfort zone.
In their 50 overs, Sri Lanka concluded with a respectable 285/7. Zimbabwe's most successful bowler, Blessing Muzarabani, took three wickets despite the rest of the assault providing little assistance.
Zimbabwe’s Struggles with the Bat
Chasing 286 was always going to be difficult, and Zimbabwe's response got off to a bad start. Dilshan Madushanka's early strikes shook the top order and sent the home team down to 35/3 during the powerplay. Sikandar Raza and Craig Ervine tried to reestablish a stable collaboration. But after Raza left for a solid 42, the innings stalled.
Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, two spinners from Sri Lanka, put constant pressure in the middle overs, making it challenging to score. Zimbabwe eventually fell short by 73 runs after losing wickets at regular intervals and was bowled out for 212 in the 46th over.
What This Win Means
In spite of winning the series, Sri Lanka gained important confidence with this result in preparation for their 2025 asia cup schedule campaign. In the meantime, Zimbabwe needs greater consistency from their bowling and batting units as they try to recover respect in the third ODI.