The weather forecast in Colombo for the second SL vs ZIM 2nd ODI does not look very good on Monday. The series did not start in the best possible way with the first ODI getting rained out. The last two games thus become must-win for both teams to win the series. The second ODI starts at 2.30 pm IST.
Sri Lanka, on the back of Charith Asalanka’s 101 scored 273/9 in their 50 overs. Kusal Mendis (46) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (41) were the other contributors. For Zimbabwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, and Faraz Akram took two wickets each.
Zimbabwe in their chase were down to 5/2 with Dilshan Madushanka dismissing skipper Craig Ervine and Tinashe Kamunhukamwe for ducks. Zimbabwe were 12.2 before the heavens opened up. Relentless rain meant that the umpires finally had to call the match off with the hosts denied a chance to win the match. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, had a lucky escape.
Sri Lanka kicks off their 2024 season at home against a relatively weaker Zimbabwe side. They have the team to go for the kill and win the clean sweep Zimbabwe in the white-ball formats. Zimbabwe met Sri Lanka in the ODI World Cup qualifiers earlier this year. They lost 2-1 to Sri Lanka the last time they toured Sri Laka in 2021-22 Zimbabwe won the the previous ODI series between the two sides in the 2017-28 season 3-2 which was also played in Sri Lanka.
Craig Ervine will lead Zimbabwe. They lost an ODI series against Ireland heading into this series. Ervine the skipper will need support from his senior players if they are to beat Sri Lanka at home. They have not played top-class ODI teams in recent times and tackling the Sri Lankan bowling attack might be an issue for the side.
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Both of the teams did not have a good 2023. Sri Lanka endured one of their worst World Cup campaigns ever winning just two matches in the ICC World Cup 2023. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024 losing the African regional qualifier against Uganda.
The two teams have played 62 ODIs with the Lankans winning 47 games and the Aftercan nation 12. Three matches have ended in no result with the first ODI being the latest. The two teams have played just three T20Is with Sri Lanka winning all three. Sri Lanka have won 14 of the 20 Test matches played between the two sides while Zimbabwe hasn’t won any to date.
Heading into the second ODI, Sri Lanka have a few concerns with their key players. Pathun Nissanka was ruled out of the series with reports of dengue. Wanindu Hasaranga was not part of the XI that was picked for the first ODI. He missed the World Cup due to a hamstring injury and was recently named the T20I skipper of the side.
SL vs ZIM Weather Report Live Today And Pitch Report Of R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Stadium – 2nd ODI, 2024
The SL vs ZIM second ODI starts at 2.30 pm IST on Monday, January 8. There is a 70 percent chance of rain throughout the day. The temperature will be around 31 degrees during the day. By the afternoon, the weather conditions will be mainly cloudy and humid with a couple of t-storms as per Accuweather. Thus rain is expected to interrupt the game more than once.
Speaking about the pitch, it is a good one for batting with the team batting first having a better chance of winning the game. The pitch gets slower in the second innings with the spinners coming into their own. A score like first the first ODI will turn out to be a match-winning score.
