Zimbabwe’s ODI series victory against Sri Lanka has pumped life back into Zimbabwean cricket which looked done and dusted for the most part of this decade. This series victory will certainly go down in the history of the African nation as one of their best achievements ever and will be cherished for years to come.
Since their arrival in international cricket in the 1980s, moments of glory have been rare for the African nation. Some upsets in the World Cup and a few victories in other formats of the game have been the only source of joy for Zimbabwe’s fans.
Political and financial issues have played their part in pushing back Zimbabwe cricket in the last few years and hence this ODI victory against Sri Lanka is a special achievement.
While the celebrations still continue in Zimbabwe, we take a look at the previous instances in Zimbabwe cricket when they achieved something spectacular and created memorable moments for their fans.
#5 Thrashing India and South Africa in the 1999 World Cup
Zimbabwe entered the 1999 World Cup with their best ever team but were still considered inferior to the heavyweights in the tournaments. This misconception was cleared in the ODI against India when Henry Olonga delivered a sensational penultimate over to snatch victory from India’s jaws.
Chasing 253 runs in 46 overs, India got off to a solid start with Sadagoppan Ramesh and Ajay Jadeja adding 99 runs for the fourth wicket. A fumble in the middle overs saw India slipping to six down for 175 but then Nayan Mongia and Robin Singh batted with caution and took the chase to the final stages.
India needed nine runs from two overs when Olonga came back for his fourth over. On the second ball, Robin Singh was caught in the covers, on the fifth ball Srinath was bowled and on the sixth ball, Prasad was trapped in front of wickets. Three wickets in one over and Olonga had scripted a dramatic win.
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10 days later at the same venue, Zimbabwe thrashed South Africa to register another upset. After scoring 233 runs in their 50 overs, Zimbabwe reduced South Africa to six down for 40 runs as the pace duo of Neil Johnson and Heath Streak spat venom with the new ball. Shaun Pollock and Klusener’s half-centuries weren’t enough to repair the damage as Zimbabwe won the match by 48 runs.
With two wins against strong teams, Zimbabwe had their best ever World Cup campaign in 1999.
#4. Shocking Australia with a 13 run win at 1983 World Cup
The 1983 World Cup was a huge moment for Zimbabwe. To feature in their maiden World Cup tournament, the Zimbabwean players worked in bakeries and as bouncers in casinos as grim financial issues meant they had a tight budget.
Duncan Fletcher, Zimbabwe’s captain was too serious about the tournament and roped in a rugby and a baseball coach to make his team physically fit and strong.
The end result of these sterling efforts was five defeats in six games in the tournament. However, the silver lining for the African nation was their 13-run victory against Australia which is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in international cricket.
Australia was a formidable team that included players like Denis Lillee, Jeff Thompson, Allan Border and Rod Marsh. On the contrary, Zimbabwe was an assembled unit of cricketers who were passionate about the game but had little experience of professional cricket.
Surprisingly, this assembled unit withstood the Aussie bowling attack and scored 239 runs in 60 overs. Fletcher scored 69 not out and tagged with the lower order batsmen to reach a respectable total.
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Kepler Wessels gave Australia a solid start and at one stage, they were firmly placed at two down for 114. But then Fletcher once again got into the act and wrecked Australia’s middle order. The unfortunate run-out of Wessels when he was on 76 further derailed the chase and Zimbabwe cashed in on the opening.
Marsh counter-attacked with a fifty of just 42 balls but he ran out of partners and overs as Zimbabwe restricted Australia to 226 runs.
Fletcher was the star performer. He scored a fifty and also picked up four wickets.
The bouncers and the bakers with training in rugby and baseball had done the unthinkable by defeating Australia by 13 runs.
#3 ODI Series win against Sri Lanka in 2017
Sri Lanka were ranked eighth in the ICC ODI rankings and the squad that faced Zimbabwe in the five-match ODI series in 2017 wasn’t their strongest. Their fielding efforts were even more pathetic. But all these facts cannot by any means undermine the historic ODI series win Zimbabwe registered against Sri Lanka.
The last five years arguably have been one of the darkest phases in Zimbabwe cricket. The administration, with each passing year, became worse, the players saw no future in cricket and were forced to look at other options, the fans had nothing to cheer about or look up to, and the list went on. All these factors indicated cricket in Zimbabwe was on its deathbed.
And suddenly Zimbabwe won the ODI series, their first overseas ODI series victory against a full member since 2001. The visitors began the series by chasing down a record score of 316 in the first match. Solomon Mire’s attacking 112 off 96 balls set the tone for the chase and Sikandar Raza (67 off 56 balls) along with Malcolm Waller (40 off 29 balls) completed the proceedings.
The hosts came back strongly by dominating Zimbabwe in the next two ODIs. However, in the fourth ODI, Zimbabwe kept their nerves in a rain-affected game and emerged victorious with the help of D/L method. In the decider match on a slow pitch, Masakadza blasted 73 runs off 86 balls to help his team chase 204 runs.
This series was a perfect team effort for the African nation as no batsman scored more than 300 runs and no bowler picked up more than six wickets in five matches. The victory might have revived cricket in Zimbabwe and brought back the excitement in the game.
#2 Douglas Marillier’s heroics against India in 2002
With 65 runs to win from 34 balls and only two wickets in hand, Douglas Marillier arrived at the crease against India at Faridabad in the first ODI.
The game was done and dusted but Marillier decided to have some fun. In the 47th over, he took on the best bowler of the day – Zaheer Khan – and continuously scooped him over the wicket-keeper’s head. It was an insane strokeplay but who cared as that over produced 21 overs.
One over later, Marillier once again took Zaheer for a ride by smashing 13 runs. With nine needed from six balls, suddenly a victory looked possible for the visitors.
In the last over, the number ten batsman smashed boundaries off the first and the fifth ball to clinch a dramatic victory for his side.
Marillier finished with 56 not out off 24 balls and also won the man of the match award.
#1 Winning a one-wicket thriller against New Zealand in 2001
Regarded as one of Zimbabwe’s best ODI victories ever, the one-wicket victory against New Zealand at Auckland was emotional as well as inspirational.
In the decider, chasing 275, Zimbabwe looked marooned as they lost five wickets for 64 runs. But then Andy Flower took the centre stage and produced one of his finest batting performances under pressure. His gritty knock of 81 runs kept the chase alive and later Heath Streak smashed a 67 ball 79 not out to steer his team home.
After the fall of the ninth wicket, the visitors still needed 19 runs from three overs. Streak milked seven runs from the 48th over and with 12 needed off the last two overs, went berserk. A thumping six against McMillan completed the proceedings as Zimbabwe won a thriller and also registered their maiden overseas ODI series victory.
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