In just his second ODI appearance, Janith Liyanage delivered a game-changing performance that led his team to a thrilling victory against Zimbabwe in Colombo on Monday. His 95 runs off 127 balls marked the highest individual score for Sri Lanka in the second ODI, with the next-best score being 21, allowing the hosts to secure a narrow two-wicket win.
However, Liyanage narrowly missed his first international century by just five runs. In the 43rd over, he aimed to hit Blessing Muzarabani for a six down the ground but was caught at mid-off instead. This decision seemed unnecessary as Muzarabani posed a significant threat among Zimbabwe’s bowlers, and Sri Lanka still had 46 balls to score the remaining 37 runs. Additionally, Liyanage’s dismissal left Sri Lanka with only two wickets in hand, giving Zimbabwe an advantage once again.
Despite the challenges, the hosts eventually reached their target of 209, aided by an intensifying rainfall in the final half-hour of play. Liyanage clarified that his attempt at the risky stroke in the 43rd over was influenced more by the rain’s impact than the scoreline or his personal desire to reach a century.
“More than the century, what I wanted was to get the team to victory,” he said. “At that time, we were about five runs behind the DLS score. So, I thought if I hit a six in that over, we’d be able to win even if the match stopped because of rain. All I thought of was winning the match, and I’m glad we were able to get there.”
Earlier in the innings, Liyanage partnered with Maheesh Theekshana to build a crucial 56-run stand for the seventh wicket, rescuing Sri Lanka from a precarious position of 112 for 6. While Theekshana contributed only 18 runs to this partnership, Liyanage exhibited a more aggressive batting style than earlier in the innings, albeit with calculated shot selection.
“When Maheesh and I were at the crease, Zimbabwe was deploying their top bowlers, and they had limited overs remaining,” explained Liyanage. “Our strategy was to cautiously gather two or three runs per over against their key bowlers and then accelerate our scoring in the final five or six overs.”
Throughout Sri Lanka’s chase, there had been a lingering threat of rain, which eventually caused a significant delay after 13 overs into their innings. According to Liyanage, the moisture in the air favored Zimbabwe’s fast bowlers and aided their performance.
“We lost two wickets at the start, and with the rain, the ball started to move a bit. So, I thought at time that they’ve got two fast bowlers, so I’ll defend against them and if I bat for a while and get set, I could bat till the end. Their tall quicks got a bit extra out of the conditions with the rain.”
