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ToggleSri Lanka and Zimbabwe go head to head in the SL vs ZIM ODI series. All the matches will be played in Colombo with the first game on Saturday, January 6. The next two ODIs will be played on January 8 and 11. All the matches start at 2.30 pm IST.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Board headed by Chief Selector Upul Tharanga named three different captains for three different formats. Dhananjaya de Silva was named the new Test captain, Kusal Mendis the ODI captain, and Wanindu Hasaranga the new T20I captain. Mendis will lead Sri Lanka in the upcoming ODI series against Zimbabwe at home.
Charith Asalanka was named the new vice-captain of the ODI side. Former skipper Dasun Shanaka is a part of the ODI squad as is Hasaranga. The bowling attack looks good with plenty of options. Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Maheesh Theekshana form the spin core with Hasaranga. Dushmantha Chameera leads the pace attack alongside Dilshan Madushanka and Pramod Madushan.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, will be led by Ciarg Ervine. He has experienced players to fall back on as well Sikandar Raza, Blessing Musarabani, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe and Richard Ngarava form the core of the Zimbabwe side. They are fresh off an ODI series defeat against Ireland in December 2023.
The side failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024 after playing the main round in the T20 World Cup 2022. They defeated Pakistan to begin their campaign in 2022 but faded out. In the 2024 qualifiers, they lost to Uganda in the African qualifiers as they missed out a shot on qualification.
With teams like Uganda, Namibia, Nepal, PNG, Canada, Oman, and the Netherlands qualifying for the tournament, Zimbabwe’s failure to qualify for the major event highlights their inconsistent run as a team. They missed out on qualifying for the ODI World Cup last year in India as well. They last played an ODI World Cup back in 2015.
Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have played 61 ODIs with the Lankans winning 47 games and the African nation 12. Two matches have ended in no result. 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. Zimbabwe is yet to win a Test match against Sri Lanka.
SL vs ZIM Head To Head Records Overall Stats
| Format | Matches | Sri Lanka won | Zimbabwe won | Draw/Abandoned/NR |
| Test | 20 | 14 | – | 6 |
| ODI | 61 | 47 | 12 | 2 |
| T20I | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| Total | 84 | 64 | 12 | 8 |
SL vs ZIM Head To Head Records In Tests
| Matches Played | 20 |
| Sri Lanka Won | 14 |
| Zimbabwe Won | – |
| Tied | – |
| Drawn | 6 |
| SL Win % | 70% |
| ZIM Win % | – |
| Draw % | 30% |
| First Played On | 1994 |
| Last played On | 2020 |
SL vs ZIM Head To Head Records In ODIs
| Matches Played | 61 |
| Sri Lanka Won | 47 |
| Zimbabwe Won | 12 |
| Tied | 0 |
| No Result | 0 |
| SL Win % | 77.04% |
| ZIM Win % | 19.67% |
| First Played On | 1991 |
| Last played On | 2023 |
SL vs ZIM Head To Head Records In T20Is
| Matches Played | 3 |
| Sri Lanka Won | 3 |
| Zimbabwe Won | 0 |
| Tied | 0 |
| No Result | 0 |
| SL Win % | 100% |
| ZIM Win % | – |
| First Played On | 2009 |
| Last played On | 2013 |
SL vs ZIM Head-to-Head Records in ODIs- 1st ODI, 2024
- Matches Played – 61
- Sri Lanka Won- 47
- Zimbabwe Won- 12
- Most Runs For Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga-856
- Most Wickets For Sri Lanka: Muttiah Muralitharan-27
- Most Runs For Zimbabwe: Hamilton Masakadza-596
- Most Wickets For Zimbabwe: Tendai Chatara- 15
