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Statistical Highlights 3rd match : Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka at Harare on 15-12-99

Mohandas Menon

• This match was the 1529th in Limited Over international (LOI) history.

• This match was Zimbabwe's 136th and Sri Lanka's 315th in LOIs.

• This match was the 19th meeting between the two sides.

• Murray Goodwin was appearing in his 50th match. He becomes the tenth Zimbabwean and the 210th player in LOI history to do so. Incidentally it was his 50th consecutive match. Since his debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo (SSC) on 22-1-1998 he has not missed a single match for Zimbabwe so far.

• Alistair Campbell's catch of Jayasuriya was his 43rd of his career in 114 matches. This makes him the fielder with maximum catches for Zimbabwe in LOIs. He surpasses the 42 catches by Grant Flower.

• Henry Olonga (4-51) became the only second Zimbabwean bowler to concede more than 50 runs while capturing four or more wickets. Gary Brent had conceded 53 runs while capturing four wickets, just four days ago at Bulawayo on 11-12-1999.

• Sajeewa deSilva's spell of 2-0-20-0 was the least economical by any visiting bowler who has bowled at least two overs in Zimbabwe. India's Sunil Joshi had figures of 2-0-19-0 at Bulawayo (QC) on 15-2-1997.

• Muthiah Muralitharan's first wicket of the match of Grant Flower was his 174th of his career, which makes him the highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in LOIs. At the end of the match, he has 177 wickets in 128 matches. He had surpassed Sanath Jayasuriya's tally of 173 wickets in 196 matches.

• Muralitharan with 17 wickets also becomes Sri Lanka's highest wicket-taker against Zimbabwe. He betters the previous tally of 16 wickets by team-mate Chaminda Vaas.

• Muralitharan (4-16) has now conceded the least runs by any Sri Lankan bowler while capturing four or more wickets in a LOI match after Arjuna Ranatunga's 4-14 against India at Kanpur on 24-12-1986. Only Pakistan's Wasim Akram (5-15 at Karachi, 24-12-1993) has conceded fewer runs while capturing four or more wickets against Zimbabwe.

• Incidentally Muralitharan's 4-16 was the third best bowling on Zimbabwean soil and the best ever by any visiting bowler. Only Zimbabweans Eddo Brandes (5-28 v England at Harare, 3-1-1997) and Heath Steak (5-32 v India at Bulawayo, QC, 15-2-1997) have better figures than Muralitharan. The previous best figures by a visiting bowler was also by a Sri Lankan - Chaminda Vaas' 4-20 at this same venue on 3-11-1994.

• The duck by Andy Flower was his ninth of his career. He equals the tally of his younger sibling Grant Flower to record the maximum ducks by a Zimbabwean batsman in LOIs.

• Romesh Kalauwitharana claimed his 150th dismissal of his career when he took the catch of Stuart Carlisle. In 129 matches he now has 88 catches and a record 62 stumpings. He now becomes the sixth keeper in LOI history after Australian Ian Healy (233 dismissals), West Indian Jeff Dujon (203), Pakistani Moin Khan (193), South African Dave Richardson (165) and Indian Nayan Mongia (153) to reach this milestone.

• The 98 run victory was Sri Lanka's second largest against Zimbabwe after its 191 run win at this same venue on 6-11-1994.

• This was Zimbabwe's seventh loss in the last eight matches, which includes one no-result match. Interestingly since its famous victory over South Africa in the 1999 World Cup at Chelmsford on 29-5-1999, Zimbabwe has a very poor record in LOIs. In 14 matches since then, Zimbabwe has lost 11and have won just a single match against Kenya at Nairobi on 25-9-1999 in the LG Cup tournament, while two of its matches were declared as no-result.

• Upul Chandana (26; 3-21 and 1 direct run-out) won his first ever Man of the match award in his 64th LOI match.