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Zimbabwe snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the opening match of the Al Barakh Cup in Canada, as Sri Lanka were let off the hook courtesy of some poor decisions by captain Prosper Utseya.

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field after a wet outfield delayed the start of the match and saw it reduced to 17 overs per side. Opener Stuart Matsikenyeri saw the side off to a disappointing start, dismissed for just 1 run, but decent performances by Hamilton Masakadza, Chamu Chibhabha and Tatenda Taibu steadied the innings, with Taibu putting problems back home behind him to top-score with 45 not out. From there, though, it was all downhill, as Mendis (at 3/15 the best of the Sri Lankan bowlers) dealt with the lower order to restrict Zim to 107 runs from their 17 overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka got off to a flyer as Udawatte and Dilshan put on 36 for the opening wicket, as Utseya's decision to open the bowling with Chris Mpofu quickly backfired, with Mpofo going for 26 runs off his two overs bowled - needless to say he wasn't brought back. Tawanda Mupariwa (18/0) and Ray Price (2/9) reigned the scoring back in during the middle of the innings, with Price's wickets giving Zimbabwe the upper hand again, but once again a suspect decision by Utseya saw them throw away their advantage - with Sri Lanka needing better than a run a ball and with Chigumbura and Mupariwa still with overs in hand, Keith Dabengwa was brought on - a second-string bowler at best, and Sri Lanka quickly punished that decision, on their way to reaching their target with an over to spare.

On the plus side, Sri Lanka were made to work for their victory - but at the end of the day, they didn't win so much as Zimbabwe conspired to lose. They had this match for the taking, and bad captaincy lost it for them. Very disappointing.

Full scorecard below the cut.
Zimbabwe 106/9 (17/17 overs; Taibu 45*, Mendis 3/15), Sri Lanka 107/5 (16/17 overs; Dilshan 33, Price 2/9). Sri Lanka win by 5 wickets .

Zimbabwe innings (17 overs maximum)
S Matsikenyeri	c Fernando b Maharoof		1	
H Masakadza	c Mendis b Maharoof		22	
CJ Chibhabha	c Kapugedera b Thushara		13	
T Taibu		not out				45	
KM Dabengwa	b Thushara			4	
E Chigumbura	c Dilshan b Mendis		5	
T Maruma	run out (Jayawardene)		3	
P Utseya	st Dilshan b Mendis		4	
RW Price	c Jayawardene b Mendis		1	
T Mupariwa	not out				2	
    Extras	(lb 3, w 2, nb 1)		6
    Total	(8 wickets; 17 overs)		106

Did not bat: CB Mpofu

Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Matsikenyeri, 1.1 ov), 2-27 (Masakadza, 3.4 ov), 
3-43 (Chibhabha, 6.3 ov), 4-57 (Dabengwa, 8.6 ov), 
5-77 (Chigumbura, 12.2 ov), 6-80 (Maruma, 12.5 ov), 
7-95 (Utseya, 15.2 ov), 8-97 (Price, 15.5 ov)
							
Bowling		O	M	R	W	Econ	
CRD Fernando	3	0	27	0	9.00	(2w)
MF Maharoof	4	0	18	2	4.50	
T Thushara	3	0	19	2	6.33	
LHD Dilhara	4	0	24	0	6.00	(1nb)
BAW Mendis	3	0	15	3	5.00	
								
Sri Lanka innings (target: 107 runs from 17 overs)
ML Udawatte	c Taibu b Chigumbura		25	
TM Dilshan	b Price				33	
HGJM Kulatunga	b Price				8	
SHT Kandamby	run out (Maruma)		1	
DPD Jayawardene	run out (Price)			0	
CK Kapugedera	not out				18
MF Maharoof	not out				13	
    Extras	(lb 4, w 5)			9
    Total	(5 wickets; 16 overs)		107

Did not bat: CRD Fernando, T Thushara, BAW Mendis, LHD Dilhara

Fall of wickets: 1-36 (Udawatte, 4.2 ov), 2-64 (Kulatunga, 10.4 ov), 
3-71 (Kandamby, 11.3 ov), 4-71 (Jayawardene, 11.4 ov), 
5-77 (Dilshan, 12.5 ov)
							
Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ	
CB Mpofu	2	0	26	0	13.00	(1w)
T Mupariwa	4	0	18	0	4.50	(3w)
E Chigumbura	1	0	10	1	10.00	(1w)
RW Price	4	0	9	2	2.25	
P Utseya	3	0	19	0	6.33	
KM Dabengwa	2	0	21	0	10.50