Niroshan Dickwella and Asela Gunaratne hit crucial half centuries to guide Sri Lanka to their highest-ever run chase as the hosts defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets on the final day of an intriguing one-off Test in Colombo on Tuesday.
(Read | Sri Lanka pull off record chase to beat Zimbabwe in one-off Test)
Chasing 388 for a win, the hosts, who had lost their first one-day international series against Zimbabwe prior to the Test, had been reduced to 203 for five before Dickwella and Gunaratne combined in a stand of 121 to anchor the chase. (SL vs ZIM SCORES)
Dickwella was out for 81 after posting his highest Test score, while Gunaratne, who battled on despite suffering from a hamstring injury, remained 80 not out.
Here are the statistical highlights of the game -
--> It was the fifth highest successful run-chase in Tests and the highest ever in Asia. West Indies, who scored 418/7 against Australia at St John’s in 2002-03, hold the record of the highest fourth innings total.
Following is the list of the successful run chases in Tests –
{{/usCountry}}Following is the list of the successful run chases in Tests –
{{/usCountry}}Score: Winner Opponent Venue Year
418-7: West Indies Australia St John’s 2002-03
414-4: South Africa Australia Perth 2008-09
406-4: India West Indies Port of Spain 1975-76
404-3: Australia England Leeds 1948
391-6: Sri Lanka Zimbabwe Colombo 2017-18
(Read | Sikandar Raza, the rising star of Zimbabwe cricket continues to create history)
--> Prior to this Test, Sri Lanka’s previous highest fourth innings total which resulted in a win was 352/9 against South Africa at Colombo in 2006.
--> Graeme Cremer recorded match figures of 9/275 - the best by a Zimbabwe captain in Tests.
--> No Sri Lankan batsman scored a century in the fourth innings of this game. Niroshan Dickwella top-scored with 81. This is the first instance of a team successfully chasing down a 350+ target without a batsman reaching the three-figure mark.