‘Lekin laanat pehle he utha chuke ho’ – Fans react as Sri Lanka thrash Zimbabwe by nine wickets in third T20I to win the series

Ahead of the third T20I between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, both teams entered the game with the series leveled 1-1. The home team won the last-ball thriller in the first T20I, followed by an upset by the Chevrons. Meanwhile, in this game, the Lankan Lions won the toss and elected to bowl first. Apart from Brian Bennett’s (29) quick start, the team managed to bowl out the opposition for 82 runs.

For the former T20 World Cup winners, captain Wanindu Hasaranga took four wickets while former skipper Angelo Mathews and Maheesh Theekshana took two wickets each. Apart from this, left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka and Dhanajaya de Silva took one each. In reply, the home team chased down the target in just 10.5 overs and nine wickets in hand.

It’s great to be able to contribute: Former Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews

Angelo Mathews is the Player of the Series for his 112 runs and 2 wickets over three games: “For the past 16-odd years I don’t think my mom and dad were present [when I’ve won one of these] so I just want to dedicate this them. It’s been a great comeback series for me. I’ve been working extremely hard on and off the field, trying to keep up with all the youngsters. It’s great that I was able to contribute in all three departments.

[Role for SL?] It’ll change depending on the surfaces that we play on. My job was to try and help us get to a good target, especially in the second T20. It depends on where I bat, but happy to whatever the team needs from me. [Prefer to bowl at the top?] It depends. I’ve bowled a few overs at the end. If not for my crappy over in the last T20 we could’ve won 3-0. But nothing can be taken from the Zimbabweans. They’ve played extremely good cricket and we’ve had to work really hard to win the series. Credit to them and wish them the very best.”

This is how Twitter reacted