SL strike after Tharanga ton gives them 537

Zimbabwe 88 for 1 (Mawoyo 41*, Masakadza 33*) trail Sri Lanka 537 (Tharanga 110*, Perera 110, Cremer 4-142) by 449 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details

For a brief period on the second morning, Zimbabwe made run-scoring look strenuous. For the rest of the day, Sri Lanka’s batsmen enjoyed a placid Harare surface and a tiring bowling attack to pile on 537. Upul Tharanga, displaying admirable patience, reaped the most rewards on the second day to score to his second Test ton, an unbeaten 110.

Tharanga milked the bowling for the majority of his innings, capitalising on anything short with cuts and dabs behind square on the off side. With legspinner Graeme Cremer blocking that option by bowling a fuller length, Tharanga chose to sweep, a lofted heave over midwicket bringing up his fifty. Once he was set, the drives came out and their timing was excellent.

Tharanga was assisted by debutant Asela Gunaratne, who auditioned for a regular spot in the Test squad with 54 off 102 balls, compiled with a compact technique and an ability to manoeuvre the field. A tight channel just outside off didn’t work against him: he often opened the face to steer boundaries either side of gully.

But, soon after becoming the 18th Sri Lankan batsman to score a fifty on his Test debut, …

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