LAHORE: 12th-ranked Zimbabwe surprised eighth-ranked Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the second match of the tri-nation T20I series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

After posting 162 for eight, Zimbabwe bowled Sri Lanka out for 95 on the final ball of the match. This was Zimbabwe’s first win after two matches, while Sri Lanka will play their second match against Pakistan on Saturday.

Put into bat, Zimbabwe were well served by opener Brian Bennett and captain Sikandar Raza. Bennett top-scored with a 42-ball 49 with five fours and a six, while Raza’s 32-ball 47 included three fours and two sixes.

There were small but useful contributions from Ryan Burl (18), Brendan Taylor (11) and Tashinga Musekiwa (11) as Zimbabwe reached 71 for two after 10 overs and 116 for three after 15 overs before adding 46 runs in the last five overs.

For Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga and Eshan Malinga were the stand-out bowlers. Hasaranga took three for 32 and Malinga claimed two for 27.

In turn, Sri Lanka never got going after being 25 for two at the end of the six-over PowerPlay and 45 for four at the halfway mark, before being sent packing for 95.

Only captain Dasun Shanaka offered some resistance, top-scoring with a 25-ball 34 with two fours and two sixes. Extras (12) were the next best contributors, followed by opener Bhanuka Rajapaksa (11).

For Zimbabwe, Brad Evans took three for nine and Richard Ngarava snapped up two for 15.

Scores in brief

Match 2 – Zimbabwe beat Sri Lanka by 67 runs

ZIMBABWE 162-8, 20 overs (Brian Bennett 49, Sikandar Raza 47; Wanindu Hasaranga 3-32, Eshan Malinga 2-27)

SRI LANKA 95 all-out, 20 overs (Dasun Shanaka 34; Brad Evans 3-9, Richard Ngarava 2-15)