Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza led his team from the front as his all-round display helped his side beat Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the 2nd match of the T20I Tri-Series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Thursday, November 22. After being put into bat first, Zimbabwe posted a competitive score of 162/8 in their allotted 20 overs, riding on brilliant knocks from Brian Bennett (49 off 42) and Sikandar Raza (47 off 32).
In response, Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 95 from 20 overs, with captain Dasun Shanaka (34 off 25) the top scorer. Apart from him, only Bhanuka Rajapaksa (11 out of 18) reached double figures. Brad Evans was the pick of Zimbabwe’s bowlers with remarkable figures of 3/9 in four overs while Richard Ngarva (2/15) also scalped two wickets.
SL vs ZIM T20I Tri Series Match 2 Highlights
Sikandar Raza (1/23) also chipped in with one wicket as Zimbabwe recorded their third win over Sri Lanka in T20Is and second in 2025. It was also Zimbabwe’s biggest win against a full-strength side, with Raza adjudged Man of the Match for his all-round performance. It was the 19th such award for the Zimbabwe captain, leaving him behind only Malaysia’s Virandeep Singh (22 awards) on the list.
After being asked to bat first, Zimbabwe lost Tadiwanash Marumani (10 off 6) and Brendan Taylor (11 off 9) in the overs. With the team at 40/2 after 5.3 overs, skipper Raza joined Brian Bennett at the crease and the duo put on 61 runs for the third wicket in 43 balls. Bennett missed his half-century, dismissed for 49 by Waninda Hasaranga (3/32), while Raza fell to Dushmanth Chameer for 47.
Zimbabwe climbed to the top of the points table
After their partnership ended, Sri Lanka clawed their way back into the game and restricted Zimbabwe to 162/8. In the second innings, their chase never picked up steam as they were left reeling at 25/3 in 6.1 overs. Shanaka was the lone warrior in the innings, but after his dismissal in the 14th over, the writing was on the wall for Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, after their emphatic win, Zimbabwe climbed to the top of the points table with two points from as many games and a net rate of +1.471, while Sri Lanka remained at the bottom but were yet to open their account as Pakistan sat second with two points as well.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
November 20, 2025
