GALLE: When Kusal Mendis inside edged a catch behind the wicket off the first ball he received and was given a reprieve by the head umpire who ruled that delivery a no-ball as the bowler Subash Roy had overstepped the crease he would have known that Lady Luck was certainly on his side.
Kusal Mendis celebrates his century on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh at the Galle International Stadium yesterday. (Pix by Saman Mendis)

Following that awful first shot he played that nearly cost him his wicket Mendis from there onwards hardly put a foot wrong as he made his way towards his second Test century in 15 matches to put Sri Lanka in a much firmer footing than they were at one stage at the end of the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh played at the Galle International Stadium yesterday.

It was Mendis’ brilliant knock of 176 that paved the way for Sri Lanka’s 3-0 sweep of Australia in their last home series in July 2015, and it has taken him another seven months to notch up his second hundred at the highest level.

The way he is going he is certain to end up with another big score which could be the decisive factor in determining which way the series would go. Mendis was unbeaten on 166 at stumps having batted for 362 minutes and hit 18 fours and two sixes in his 242-ball innings with Niroshan Dickwella on 14.

At 149 Mendis passed 1000 Test runs – the 31st Sri Lankan player to do so and with Gunaratne, he shared a new fourth wicket partnership of 196 off 261 balls against Bangladesh erasing the previous highest of 150 by Kumar Sangakkara and Aravinda de Silva at the P Sara Oval in 2002.

Mendis of whom everyone expects big things was all class as he settled down to play some glorious pulls, drives and sweeps, mainly on the leg side where he collected 99 of his 166 runs.

Gunaratne continued his golden run with the bat and was unfortunate to be dismissed for 85 when he dragged a wide ball that could have been left alone onto his stumps. He had seven fours in his 134-ball knock of 85.

Mendis and Gunaratne raised the batting tempo during their partnership after Sri Lanka had scored only 61 runs in the first session of play so that by the day’s end the total had exceeded 300.

The final session of play produced 166 runs as the Lankan batsmen made capital out of the tired Bangladesh bowlers on a very hot day that saw the support staff bring out a giant umbrella to provide shade to the players during the drinks breaks.

The two batsmen Sri Lanka were banking on to score heavily Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal both failed. Karunaratne coming to this Test on the back of a double century scored against England Lions in the unofficial test at Dambulla made 30 before chopping the ball onto his stumps.

Chandimal having scored an unbeaten 190 against this bowling attack for Sri Lanka President’s XI in the two-day warm-up match was strangely subdued scratching around 54 balls for five before dot balls brought about his downfall got the better of him and his expansive drive ended up in gully’s hands.

Upul Tharanga never looked a Test opener with his poor technique and it was no surprise when he was beaten all ends up by a delivery from Subash Roy that ripped through his defence and shattered his stumps in the sixth over of the day.

Sri Lanka strengthened their bowling attack for this Test going in with five specialist bowlers that included three spinners for the expense of a batsman Dhananjaya de Silva. Bangladesh also opted for five specialist bowlers but included three seamers instead.

Bangladesh has won just three of its 45 away matches — two against West Indies in 2009 and one against Zimbabwe in 2013 — but has shown considerable improvement since its last victory overseas.

In its own backyard, Bangladesh has won four Tests, drawn five and conceded only three defeats since 2014. It showed impressive recent form against New Zealand and then India in away matches despite losing in both countries.

Sri Lanka has a solid record at home and blanked Australia 3-0 in the last series it hosted, in August 2016. But Bangladesh will be buoyed by the return of Mustafizur Rahman, the left-arm paceman who has not played a Test since his debut series against South Africa in 2015.

Mustafizur, 21, had undergone a shoulder surgery in August last year, after picking up an injury while playing for Sussex. He was selected for the New Zealand tour in December-January, and played four limited-overs matches before being ruled out of the two Tests that followed due to a hamstring injury.

Sri Lanka has won each of its last five Tests on home soil and will be captained by Rangana Herath, its experienced left-arm spinner who replaced Angelo Mathews.

The Sri Lankan cricket board did not say why Mathews was dropped, but he returned home last month midway through the South African tour after twisting his ankle.

The second Test in Colombo from March 15 will be Bangladesh’s 100th since it gained full status nearly 17 years ago.

The teams are also scheduled to play three One-Day Internationals before facing off in two Twenty20 Internationals to wind down the tour on April 6.

Teams (from):

Sri Lanka: Rangana Herath (capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Pradeep, Vikum Sanjaya Bandara, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Malinda Pushpakumara.

Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt, wk), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mosaddek Hossain, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Subashis Roy, Rubel H

Accordingly, the current scenario is of tremendous expectancy in a changed outlook of several colts that have come on the blocks who will strive to make their cricketing dream come true. Of significance to the Sri Lankan crusade is the presence of veteran campaigner Upul Tharanga back with a bang from an ODI century against South Africa and his consistency with the bat in leading the T20 team to the preceding series triumph. His T20 captaincy performance has been an apparent plus factor to the recall of the 32-year old veteran of 25 Test outings in ousting regular opener Kaushal di Silva for the opening berth. He has a moderate aggregate of 1400 runs from 46 innings with a highest of 165. He is epected to beef up the batting upfront pairing with Dimuth Karunaratne back from an on trial reprieve that he came through with a double ton against England A in the unofficial second test match. Also buoying is the apparent cementing of Test places by wicket-keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella and Asela Gunaratne as specialist batsmen, and as much the naming of the 29-year old spin cum utility player Malinda Pushpakumara. While Dickwella and Gunaratne literally nudged the selectors by some fine performances in the instant cricket in South Africa after being omitted for the Test series, Pushpakumara, the former Lumbini MV, Colombo and Chilaw Marians player has been in top form with the ball heading the domestic averages. His 13-wicket haul and match sealing boundary in Sri Lanka A’s win against England A in the second unofficial Test was high stuff at that level that has thrust him on the threshold of winning his national cap against Bangladesh for the first Test starting on March 7 at the Galle Esplanade.

All in all, the squad does carry a lineup of some promising youngsters along with a string of campaigners who have been around long enough to test Bangladesh to the extreme in favourable home conditions. An added dimension to the Sri Lankan official ranks is of course that former top campaigner, Asanka Gurusinha as manager Cricket for the National Team. It is a highly laudable choice by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in getting the perfect blend at managerial level given Gurusinha’s tremendous services to Sri Lanka cricket.

Neighbours Bangladesh will be led by experienced batsman Mushfiqur Rahim in a composition that sees fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman recalled after a 2-year hiatus. The exchanges, that will also see three ODIs and two T20s, has already assumed fiery proportions with the visiting skipper Rahim having thrown the gauntlet in stating on his arrival that Bangladesh was confident of upsetting Sri Lanka in the absence of regular Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews. Test minnows, who top their 100th Test match against Sri Lanka on March 15, have indeed come a long way chalking up a string of Test wins mainly against Zimbabwe, and also defeating the West Indies, in their thrust to tasting the test series euphoria.

Sri Lanka Test squad:Rangana Herath (Captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Pradeep, Vikum Sanjaya Bandara, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Malinda Pushpakumara.

Bangladesh Test squad Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mosaddek Hossain, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Subashis Roy, Rubel Hossain.

Tour Manager – Ranjith Fernando, Heapd coach – Graham Ford, Physiotherapist – Ajantha Wattegama, Trainer – Nicholas Lee, Masseur – Lal Thamel, Performance analyst- Sriram Somayajula, Liaison officers – Chandra Rodrigo (Sri Lankan Team), Wasantha Ariyawickrama (B

-

Gunaratne hit two match-winning fifties in the recent T20 series in Australia, and had also struck a maiden ODI hundred in South Africa earlier in the month. Dickwella, meanwhile, has been effective at the top of the order in the shorter formats, but had also had some first-class form behind him in recent domestic outings.

Among those omitted from the squad are Kusal Perera, who has been in poor form in both international and domestic cricket over the past few months, and opener Kaushal Silva.

Dimuth Karunaratne, the other opener, remains in the squad, however. This is thanks in part to his 212 for Sri Lanka A against England Lions over the weekend. He had also hit Sri Lanka’s only half-century in their most recent Test at the Wanderers.

The selectors sprang no major surprises on the bowling front. Malinda Pushpakumara, whom SLC had already announced would be part of the squad, is the only first-time addition. Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep and Vikum Sanjaya – all right-armers – make up the seam-bowling options, while Rangana Herath leads a strong spin contingent featuring Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan in addition to Pushpakumara. Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera has not played competitive cricket since late last year, and, as such, is unavailable.

Gunaratne’s inclusion in this squad was largely expected. He had prospered in his first Test series in Zimbabwe over October and November, and had only left the squad to make way for the return of Angelo Mathews, who had been injured for that series. With Mathews out of the side again for this series, Gunaratne is a potential replacement at no. 5, capable of providing a slow-medium bowling option for captain Herath.

Dickwella, 23, had to beat out a late challenge from Ron Chandraguptha to secure the second opener’s spot, but was also the frontrunner for this position. He had mixed results in his previous stint in the Test team in 2014, playing as wicketkeeper and batting down the order – he averages 20.57 after seven Test innings – but has since expanded his game. He was the Player of the Series in the 2-1 T20 victory over South Africa in January, and had also scored 522 runs at an average of 52.20 in Sri Lanka’s first-class competition before he left for that tour.

The Test series begins on March 7 in Galle.

Sri Lanka squad: Rangana Herath (capt), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dimuth Karunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Pradeep, Vikum Sanjaya, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Malinda Pushpakumara.

The architects of Sri Lanka’s successful chase of 170 is Niroshan Dickwella (68 in 51 balls), who shared a third-wicket stand of 71 with Dhananjaya de Silva, and Seekkuge Prasanna, who scored a career-best 37 not out off just 16 balls with three fours and three sixes to take the side across the line.

That spoilt AB de Villiers’s comeback to international cricket. He was back with a bang with 63 off 44 balls with two fours and three sixes, forging second-wicket partnership of 71 with Reeza Hendricks. However, he was dismissed by Nuwan Kulasekara at the start of the 18th over and that put paid to South Africa’s hopes of piling on the runs towards the end.

It was only due to some strong hitting by Mangaliso Mosehle in the final over, which added 21 runs to the total – including three sixes in four balls – that gave South Africa a fighting total in the end.

South Africa is unlucky to lose Lungi Ngidi after he had bowled only two of his four overs with a hip injury after he fell heavily on one of the side pitches. But it was the fielding that really let South Africa down.

The key moment came in Wayne Parnell’s second over when South Africa dropped a hat-trick of catches off the fourth, fifth and sixth balls of the over. De Silva was dropped on three and then Dickwella on 19 and again on 23. In the end, those chances made all the difference.

Dickwella finished the series as the only batsman on either side to score more than 100 runs in the series and he was deservedly named both Man of the Match and Man of the Series

South Africa were without their newest spearhead, 20-year-old Lungi Ngidi, for most of their time in the field after he bruised his hip, and he could not bowl his final two overs, but had a tardy fielding effort rather than lack of resources to blame for their inability to defend the total. They put down five catches in total and saw several more aerial chances go unclaimed to allow Sri Lanka some leeway in what was a tough task.

Still, it took cool heads for Sri Lanka’s batsmen to cross the line, especially after Imran Tahir removed their stand-in captain Dinesh Chandimal early on and then removed Dickwella and Dhananjaya de Silva in the same over. Sri Lanka had to rebuild their innings twice and eventually needed 26 runs off the last two overs. Against the inexperience of Andile Phehlulwayo and debutant Dane Paterson, Prasanna and Asela Gunaratne got there to seal a memorable win.

By the time the 19th over began, Prasanna already had 23 off 10 balls – having brought the target down from a daunting 50 off 21 balls – but Gunaratne had yet to score a run and only faced one ball after Kusal Mendis was run-out in the previous over. The pair ran hard off the first and second deliveries before Prasanna advanced on a Phehlukwayo slower ball and sent it over long-on for six. He did not get hold of the next one, losing his bat as he swung, but finished the over with a ramp over the Mangaliso Mosehle’s head to leave Paterson with 11 to defend off the last over.

Gunaratne took the pressure off the final passage of play with a scoop over fine leg for four and took quick singles before he swung across the line and top-edged over Mosehle to level scores. In his excitement, Gunaratne thought the match was over and grabbed a stump out of the ground in celebration only to be told he needed one run was still needed. He drove the penultimate ball through the covers and this time could keep the stump.

Having threatened through the series, with 43 in Centurion and 22 in Johannesburg, Dickwella went one better and converted his start into his first T20 half-century. He had support from Upul Tharanga, who was playing in his first T20 since the World T20 in 2012, and was aggressive from the get-go. The pair punished width early on and took on the short ball and it took a change of pace to separate them.

Tharanga lobbed a catch to mid-on off Wayne Parnell’s first ball, a slower delivery, to give South Africa a breakthrough but it was when stand-in captain Dinesh Chandimal was bowled by Tahir’s first delivery that Sri Lanka were under real pressure. Tahir’s over went boundary-less and then a hat-trick of missed chances came off Parnell’s second over, including a return catch, with Dickwella surviving two of those chances. He made South Africa pay.

He saw off Tahir and targeted Phehlukwayo at first, before switching gears and lapping Tahir but South Africa’s complications came when they needed a replacement for Ngidi after he injured his hip diving at cover. Jon-Jon Smuts had to fill in but his two overs cost 22 runs as Dickwella reached fifty off 34 balls.

With five overs to go, Sri Lanka needed more than ten an over but would have been fairly comfortable with Dickwella well settled. Tahir had an over in hand, though, and appeared to have changed the game. He had Dickwella caught in the deep and de Silva stumped to turn things South Africa’s way but Sri Lanka had more muscle.

In the end, South Africa might blame their middle-order problems for not posting a big enough total. They lost 4 for 28 runs in 25 balls between the 14th and 18th over, including de Villiers which may have been the difference.

South Africa trialled a new opening partner for Smuts in Reeza Hendricks and it proved a good decision. While Smuts continued to show nothing more than glimpses of the potential that took him to the top of the domestic T20 competition run-charts, Hendricks had the composure for a longer stay and formed one half of the hosts’ major partnership on the night

After Smuts was given out lbw, Hendricks was joined by de Villiers and was happy to cede control to the senior man, but not before a third perfectly timed offside drive to the end the PowerPlay strongly.

De Villiers initially played within himself before giving making room to drive through point for his first boundary. He did not focus on finding the rope too many more times early on, though, and strike-rotation with a partner who was as speedy as him formed the foundation of their scoring. Every single was cheered loudly, twos and a solitary three were even more appreciated but there was no doubt the crowd was expecting more. When de Villiers danced down the track to meet a Lakshan Sandakan delivery on the full and send it straight back over his head for six, Newlands erupted. Their superstar was back.

A scoop off Gunaratne saw de Villiers overtake Hendricks before the latter was stumped. Hendricks will not be happy with his carelessness when he dragged his foot out against Sandakan after the ball spun across him and he failed to push his foot behind the line. Chandimal needed two attempts to complete the stumping and, still, Hendricks did not inch further back.

Despite that wicket bringing South Africa’s most dangerous hitter, David Miller, to the crease, Sri Lanka had created an opening to claw their way back. Miller, Farhaan Behardien and de Villiers all departed and South Africa entered the final two overs on 141 for 5 without one of their regular finishers on hand. Nuwan Kulasekara did an exceptional job in his final two overs which only cost 11 and removed de Villiers.

Mosehle took the opportunity to show what he could do with a stunning cameo. He plundered three sixes off the first four balls in the last over, which cost Isuru Udana 21, and took South Africa’s total over 160 but it was not enough.

It took just 70 minutes and 13.3 overs for South Africa to claim the remaining five Sri Lankan wickets on the final morning and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Fast bowler Kyle Abbott made two crucial strikes, dismissing overnight batsmen Angelo Mathews (59) and Dhananjaya de Silva (22) inside the first seven overs. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 281 after adding 41 runs on Friday.

“We’re playing some really good cricket,” said Du Plessis. “But it’s about being consistent. As a team we’re flying at about 80 percent, so we still have another 20 percent in the tank. The bowlers are doing a really good job but we can do better as a batting unit.” Du Plessis said that although South Africa had to work hard in the second innings they had played well enough to keep Sri Lanka under pressure.

An opening stand of 104 between man of the match Stephen Cook and Dean Elgar had justified his decision to bat first on a green pitch. “We were disappointed because we could have got fifty more in the first innings. But we came out and bowled brilliantly to get an 80-run lead on a small-ish total,” he said.

After the teams had been bowled out for 286 and 205 in the first innings the pitch changed character and South Africa made 406 for six declared in the second innings. Sri Lanka put up a fighting performance to make 240 for five before the close on Thursday.

“Yesterday was a flat day,” said Du Plessis. “The wicket was good, the ball was soft and the bowlers worked really hard. Today we got the benefits.” Sri Lankan captain Mathews said his team had contributed to their own downfall.

“The bowlers did pretty well to restrict them to 286 but it was hard work for the batters on the first two days. After that it got better but we played some terrible shots. We have to bat better from the beginning so that we don’t have to fight back all the time.” Mathews said it would be difficult for the tourists to turn their fortunes around in the two days before the second Test starts in Cape Town on Monday but added that his players needed to be mentally strong.

“A two-day break is just a mindset. We’ve had 14 or 15 days of good training. It’s not the skill, it’s the mindset. We’ve got to be tough out there.” Batting well would be the key if Sri Lanka were to play their way back into the series. “We’ve got to put some decent runs on the board for our bowlers to bowl at,” said Mathews.

Cook was named man of the match for his innings of 59 and 117. His place was under threat when he started badly with scores of 0, 12 and 23 in South Africa’s winning series in Australia last month, with his technique coming in for criticism. But he made 40 and 104 in the final Test in Adelaide and continued to be among the runs in Port Elizabeth.

“You know as a cricketer you’re going to go through some tough times but when times are good you’ve got to make it count,” said Cook.

Abbott broke through with the 16th ball of the final morning when Mathews went across his stumps, trying to work the ball to leg, and was leg before wicket.

De Silva made 43 not out as Sri Lanka struggled to 181 for seven – still 105 runs behind South Africa’s first innings total of 286 – before bad light ended play.

South African new ball bowlers Vernon Philander and Kyle Abbott put the Sri Lankan batsmen under pressure in seam-friendly conditions, with the first three wickets falling for 22 runs.

It looked as though a full-scale collapse was possible but Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews made a solid 39 before De Silva came out to bat at number seven and played an impressive innings, with assistance from Dinesh Chandimal and Rangana Herath.

It was not a wholly impressive performance by the South African bowlers. Philander and Abbott both bowled well, taking three for 35 and two for 49 respectively, but rising star Kagiso Rabada had an off day. De Silva, playing in only his sixth Test, showed some of the quality that has already brought him centuries against Australia and Zimbabwe, although he survived a caught and bowled chance to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj when he was on 27. When play ended he had faced 69 balls and hit five fours.

The day started well for Sri Lanka when fast bowler Suranga Lakmal, playing in his 32nd Test, took his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket, finishing with five for 63, as South Africa lost their last four wickets for 19 runs.

The previous Test best for Lakmal, 29, was four for 78 against Pakistan in Dubai in January 2014.

Philander was caught at deep square leg when he top-edged a pull against Nuwan Pradeep in the fifth over of the morning after South Africa had resumed at 267 for six. Maharaj edged an away swinger to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal to give Lakmal his fifth wicket and Abbott was run out after a mix-up with Quinton de Kock.

But the hosts hit back almost immediately as Philander and Abbott ripped into their batting. Both gained appreciable movement through the air and off the pitch as three wickets fell in the first eight overs before captain Mathews joined a patient Kaushal Silva to add 39 runs for the fourth wicket.

Silva was the only one of the top four in the Sri Lankan batting order to show a solid defensive technique in tricky conditions.

But he made only 16 off 108 balls before he was leg before wicket to Philander, who produced a ball that cut back after a succession of deliveries that left the batsman.

Kusal Perera, Upul Tharanga and Dinesh Chandimal all hit half-centuries before play was called off in mid-afternoon with Sri Lanka on 212 for five in their second innings after leading by 84 runs on the first innings.

No fewer than seven Sri Lankan batsmen made scores of 50 or more in the team’s only warm-up match ahead of the first Test against South Africa, starting in Port Elizabeth on Monday.

Perera and Tharanga were promoted to open the batting in the second innings and made 51 and 50 respectively before retiring. It completed an unusual feat by the tourists with four different opening batsmen all retiring after hitting half-centuries. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva made 71 and 80 respectively in the first innings and did not bat in the second innings.

Chandimal hit a quick 60 off 52 balls, while captain Angelo Mathews followed a first innings duck by making 37 in the second innings before play was called off. Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva were the other players to make half-centuries in the first innings, leaving the tour selectors probably having to leave out at least one in-form batsman when they pick the Test side.

paved the way for Sri Lanka’s title triumph.

Under helpful conditions for the spinners, Vandersay ended a 53-run stand between Craig Ervine and Tarisai Musakanda and instantly accounted for the former. He would go on to add the wickets of Musakanda and captain Graeme Cremer as Sri Lanka restricted the hosts to a paltry total of 170, which they then chased down in under 38 overs.

The affable young spinner was happy to get an opportunity to showcase his abilities on a tour that was looked at as an auditioning and talent-spotting exercise.

“Personally, I’m happy that I was able to play today and get a few wickets. It’s been a good series,” Vandersay said. “Even the first game that I got with Zimbabwe, when it was rained off, it looked like a turning wicket.

Today, of course we saw so much turn, so it was definitely the right track for me to play on. I’m really happy that we won the series, first of all.

“Players like Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, even Asela Gunaratne, they’ve been performing consistently. The younger guys have shown some maturity, and done really well in the series. It is quite a satisfactory feeling for us as a team. We lost Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal before this series, and they’re consistent performers. To see our guys

putting their hands up and performing well for the team, without some of the seniors being here, is quite satisfying.”

Vandersay however conceded that Sri Lanka may have opted to bat first, like Zimbabwe did, had they won the toss. The spinner though attributed Zimbabwe’s low score to effective pressure building by the team’s bowling unit.

“We wanted to bowl second, mainly because we thought it was going to spin in the second innings,” Vandersay said. “That’s what we were thinking. So I’m not surprised Zimbabwe took that decision, batting first.

“It was not only [my wickets], but the quick sessions we bowled where wickets were falling regularly. We kept it going, kept building up the dot balls, and that built pressure.”

Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer rued his side’s batting failure in the final hurdle of the tri-series against Sri Lanka where they finished runners-up.

Zimbabwean batsmen couldn’t take advantage after Cremer drew first blood in the summit clash by winning the toss and opting to bat first.

The hosts lost half their side with less than 100 runs on the board, and despite Sean Williams’s best efforts there was no room for a revival. “In hindsight, we probably could have bowled first,” Cremer conceded in a post-match press conference on Sunday.

“But the way it looked this morning, we thought it would only get worse or stay how it was. The wicket was a bit sticky this morning, so it took a lot of turn. But it looked really good to bat out there this afternoon. It’s just one of those things. We couldn’t predict that.”

Despite admitting, on hindsight, that he could’ve made a different decision at the toss, Cremer was quick to note that the wicket wasn’t a batting paradise, but needed better application from his batters. “It wasn’t a 300 wicket by any stretch of the imagination. We could have got to 240 or 250 if we’d batted a bit more sensibly, and if we’d done that it could have been a different story today. We’ve got to move on and take the good part of the series with us, and learn from the things that we didn’t do so well, and make sure we don’t repeat them in the future.”

Defending 160, Zimbabwe always had their backs to the wall. However, the plucky nature that carried them to the final of the series, helped them keep their shoulders from dropping.

“When we went out there, we said even if they get our score one wicket down, we’ll make it as hard as we can for them. We weren’t going to go searching for the wickets, but we wanted to put them under pressure and make it the hardest 160 they’ve scored. That was our goal,” Cremer said.