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.

The home team’s recent results have not been favourable – Zimbabwe comes into the series having lost both Tests against New Zealand in its previous series by big margins – and it will hope that the milestone Test will usher the team into a new era.

Zimbabwe cricket is in a state of transition, with senior players gradually making way for youngsters. Vusi Sibanda, Elton Chigumbura and Chamu Chibhabha find no place in the squad, while Hamilton Masakadza is in search of runs.

Zimbabwe’s batting unit, though, still have some valuable experience in the form of Craig Ervine and Sean Williams in the middle order. Ervine will come into the game with a lot of confidence, having made a fighting 146 against New Zealand in his last Test. Masakadza might not be in the best of form, but he does add strength in a young batting line-up.

The Test series against Sri Lanka is also a great opportunity for some promising names to make a mark. Peter Moor, the wicketkeeper batsman, showed what he was capable of during his 71 on Test debut against New Zealand. Malcolm Waller is in good form too, making his way back to the Test side after scoring four consecutive half-centuries in the recent series against Pakistan A.

Zimbabwe also has an uncapped batsman in Tarisai Musakanda, the 21-year-old, who has made his way to the top after impressive performances in first-class cricket.

The home side’s bowling attack has been hit by injuries to Tendai Chatara and Tinashe Panyangara. Chris Mpofu and Carl Mumba, the uncapped seamer, will form the pace-bowling department.

Sri Lanka too has been hampered by injuries to Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, forcing the selectors to name a new captain in Herath. However, Sri Lanka should be the favourite, having whitewashed Australia at home 3-0 in the team’s previous Test series. The big names are missing but there is no dearth of class in Sri Lanka’s batting line-up, with Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva in particular impressing against Australia. The dashing Kusal Perera also adds might to the line-up. Sri Lanka’s bowling attack is led by the skipper, who is fast establishing himself as one of his country’s best ever cricketers. He has younger spinning colleagues in Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan, the chinaman, for company. The pace attack will be led by Suranga Lakmal, and also has uncapped names in the 19-year-old Lahiru Kumara alongwith Lahiru Gamage.

The first Test will be a special one for Zimbabwe, but it will have to pull collectively to make it a memorable one.

Teams (from):

Zimbabwe:

Graeme Cremer (captain), Regis Chakabva (wk), Brian Chari, Michael Chinouya, Craig Ervine, Hamilton Masakadza, Tino Mawoyo, Peter Moor (wk), Chris Mpofu, Carl Mumba, Tarisai Musakanda, Taurai Muzarabani, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams.

Sri Lanka:

Rangana Herath (captain), Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Lahiru Gamage, Asela Gunaratne, Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Madushanka, Kusal Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Kusal Perera (wk), Lakshan Sandakan, Kaushal Silva.

Chris Mpofu, who last played a Test nearly five years ago, and uncapped seamer Carl Mumba were named in the 16-man squad.

Another uncapped player – batsman Tarisai Musakanda – was picked; both Mumba and Musakanda represented Zimbabwe A against Pakistan A earlier this month. Senior batsman Vusi Sibanda still did not find a place in the Test squad, and spinner John Nyumbu was also dropped after he went wicketless in the second Test against New Zealand. Malcolm Waller returned to the Test side after scoring four straight half-centuries against Pakistan A in three 50-over and one first-class match.

Chatara had fractured his left leg last year and healed to play the ODIs and T20s againt India at home in June 2016. He was named for the two home New Zealand Tests after that but had to pull out because of an ankle injury he picked up in the warm-up game against New Zealanders. Panyangara, on the other hand, failed to recover from his lower-back injury. Michael Chinouya was recalled at the time to play New Zealand and continued to keep his place despite picking only three wickets in three innings against them.

Twenty-one-year-old Mumba, who represents Rhinos in Zimbabwe, has played 16 first-class matches for 59 wickets at an impressive average of 17.37. Musakanda, another 21-year-old from Rhinos, has 12 first-class matches to his name with 607 runs at 27.59 and five fifties.

Zimbabwe’s batting line-up looked more settled as Hamilton Masakadza returned after missing the second Test against New Zealand, due to a back injury. But there was no place for Chamu Chibhabha which meant it was not certain who would open with Tino Mawoyo.

Test squad: Graeme Cremer (captain), Tino Mawoyo, Hamilton Masakadza, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Regis Chakabva, Peter Moor, Donald Tiripano, Chris Mpofu, Taurai Muzarabani, Michael Chinouya, Brian Chari, Sikandar Raza, Malcolm Waller, Carl Mumba, Tarisai Musakanda