Date-stamped : 24 Oct94 - 14:55 Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka, Test 2 Bulawayo, 20-24 October 1994 ====> Day 1, 20 Oct 94 ZIMBABWE WIN TOSS AND BAT AGAINST SRI LANKA Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat first on the opening day of their second cricket test against Sri Lanka at Queens Sports Club on Thursday. The first test was drawn. Teams: Zimbabwe: Grant Flower, Mark Dekker, Alistair Campbell, Dave Houghton, Andy Flower (captain), Wayne James, Guy Whittal, Heath Streak, Stephen Peall, John Rennie, Malcolm Jarvis. Sri Lanka: Roshan Mahanama, Asanka Gurusinha, Sanjeewa Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga (captain), Hashan Til- lekeratne, Pubudu Dassanayake, Muttiah Muralitheran, Kumar Dhar- masena, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, Chaminda Vaas. ====> Day 1, Lunch ZIMBABWE STRUGGLE AT START OF SECOND TEST Former captain Dave Houghton led a dogged fightback after Zim- babwe lost two early wickets on the opening day of the second test against Sri Lanka on Thursday. Openers Grant Flower and Mark Dekker were both back in the pavilion with only five runs on the board but Houghton and Alistair Campbell staged a partial recovery to take Zimbabwe to 50 for two by lunch. Houghton was unbeaten on 30 and Campbell 14. Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to bat but their opening batsmen found life difficult as the Sri Lankan pacemen gained lift and movement off the pitch. Flower was the first to fall, undone by a lifting delivery from Pramodya Wickremasinghe which he edged to wicketkeeper Pubudu Dassanayake. Three overs later left-handed Mark Dekker was dismissed without scoring, pushing forward to an off-cutter from Kumar Dharmasena for Roshan Mahanama to take a low catch at first slip. Despite the slow scoring, Houghton was quick to punish any bad balls and has so far hit one six and three fours. ====> Day 1, Tea HOUGHTON LEADS ZIMBABWE FIGHTBACK Former captain Dave Houghton was leading a Zimbabwe fightback with an unbeaten 65 after the first two wickets fell for five runs in the second test against Sri Lanka on Thursday. Zimbabwe were 123 for three at tea on the opening day, Houghton having dominated partnerships of 59 for the third wicket with Alis- tair Campbell and 59 unbroken for the fourth with current captain Andy Flower (25 not out). Houghton reached his third test half-century by pulling medium-pacer Kumar Dharmasena for six over square leg. His 50 came off 120 balls and included five fours and two sixes. Sri Lanka, who had dispatched openers Grant Flower and Mark Dekker with only five runs on the board, had only one success in the second session. That was the wicket of Campbell, who was lured down the pitch by the off-spin of Muttiah Muralitheran and stumped by wicketkeeper Pubudu Das- sanayake for 18. Campbell faced 106 deliveries in a staunch ef- fort while still recovering from the effects of tonsillitis. The first test in the three-match series was drawn. ====> Day 1, End HOUGHTON DOMINATES SRI LANKAN BOWLERS An authoritative, unbeaten 116 from former Zimbabwe test captain Dave Houghton dominated the opening day`s play in the second cricket test against Sri Lanka on Thursday. Zimbabwe had reached 213 for four by the close, held together by Houghton who posted his second test century off 222 balls with 12 fours and two sixes. He came to the crease with his side in trouble at five for two and initiated stands of 60 for the third wicket with the left- handed Alistair Campbell and 121 for the fourth wicket with Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower. Houghton is now on course to overhaul his highest test score of 121 made against India in Zimbabwe`s inaugural test match at Harare Sports Club in 1992-93 and has so far been at the crease for just under five and a half hours. The positive nature of Houghton`s strokeplay was signifi- cant as Sri Lanka had enjoyed the better of the morning session with their seamers exploiting some movement off the seam. As the pitch flattened out, both Houghton and Flower took full advantage of anything loose from the Sri Lankan attack, with cuts and pulls prevalent. Their partnership eventually ended when Flower top-edged a sweep off the medium- pace seam of Kumar Dharmasena and was caught for 50 by Muttiah Muralitheran at backward square-leg. Flower had been at the crease for a little under three hours and struck six fours, leaving Dharmasena with figures of two for 65 in 26 overs dur- ing the day. Contributed by Pradeep.Perera (blppp@ic.ac.uk) ====> Day 2, 21 Oct 94 Former Zimbabwe captain Dave Houghton took centre stage with a career-best 266 in the second test against Sri Lanka on Friday. A tired Houghton was eventually dismissed three overs before the close when he was trapped leg before by left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas. Zimbabwe ended the second day on 427 for eight. Houghton's marathon innings -- Zimbabwe's highest test score -- spanned 11 1/4 hours. He faced 541 balls and struck 35 fours and three sixes. Although Houghton never entirely dominated the Sri Lanka attack, he paced his long innings intelligently and did not give a chance until he had reached 253. He was dropped by bowler Vaas after checking a forward push and then off the next delivery was put down by substitute fielder Sanath Jayasuriya. The 37-year-old Houghton's first landmark was to pass his Own record for Zimbabwe's highest individual test score of 121, made in their inaugural test against India in Harare two years ago. Then he beat his career-best 202 against the England A team in the 1989-90 season. Houghton, whose 200 came up with a reverse sweep for four off medium-pacer Kumar Dharmasena, has struck a total of 24 fours and two sixes and batted for just over nine hours. When he was dismissed he was only 13 short of the highest first-class score by a batsman representing Zimbabwe. Ray Gripper made 279 for the-then Rhodesia against Orange Free State in Bloemfontein in 1967-68. Houghton dominated a sixth-wicket stand of 100 with Wayne James either side of lunch before James was caught behind for 33 and then an 84-run stand for the eighth wicket with John Rennie be- fore his dismissal in the 180th over of the innings. Houghton said he had found off-spinner Muttiah Muralitheran the most difficult bowler to handle. "He gives the ball such a rip -- he turns it almost sideways." However, Muralitheran gained scant reward for his efforts, ending the day with 1-102 off 54 overs. The consistent Vaas took 3-76 and off-cutter Kumar Dhar- masena 2-109. (Thanks : Reuter Reports) Contributed by Vicky (vigneswa@risky.ecs.umass.edu) ====> Day 3, 22 Oct 94 Sri Lanka, under pressure to make 262 to avoid the follow on, collapsed to 91 for six by tea on the third day of the second test against Zimbabwe on Saturday. Left-handed opener Asanka Gurusinha provided the main batting resistance with an unbeaten 34. The interval arrived with the dismissal of Pubudu Dassanayake for eight, brilliantly taken down the leg-side by wicketkeeper Wayne James -- his fifth catch of the innings. The wickets were shared by left-arm swing bowler Malcolm Jarvis with three for 15 and strike bowler Heath Streak with three for 23. The only period of consolidation for Sri Lanka was when Gurusinha and captain Arjuna Ranatunga combined in a fourth wick- et stand of 54 either side of lunch. Earlier, Sri Lanka lost the classy Aravinda de Silva for no score and were in deep trouble at 25 for three at lunch. Zimbabwe's new ball duo of Heath Streak and Malcolm Jarvis did the damage, reducing Sri Lanka to 23 for three in the 17th over. Roshan Mahanama was the first to go, failing to hook Streak in the first over and gloving behind for one. At 22, Sanjeewa Rana- tunga went to drive left-armer Jarvis but was caught behind by wicketkeeper Wayne James for four. Then, four overs later, de Silva was adjudged out caught behind, attempting to pull Streak through the on-side, for no score. Thanks :: Reuter Reports Contributed by vicky (vigneswa@risky.ecs.umass.edu) ====> Day 4, 23 Oct 94 Heath Streak and Malcolm Jarvis put Zimbabwe in sight of their first test victory on Sunday with some splendid pace bowling on the fourth day of the second test against Sri Lanka. At the close Sri Lanka, forced to follow on, were 30 for two in their second innings, requiring a further 214 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Sri Lanka, reeling at 96 for six at the start of play in reply to Zimbabwe's 462 for nine declared, rallied to a comparatively respectable 218 thanks to fighting innings from opener Asanka Gurusinha (63) and Kumar Dharmasena who scored a test best 54. Gurusinha falling to Mark Dekker's catch at forward short leg. His dogged 63, made off 262 balls, spanned five and a half hours. The Sri Lanka seventh-wicket pair batted through the fourth morn- ing of the match until Gurusinha fell to the final ball before lunch. He intelligently shielded Dharmasena from the strike, reaching his second successive 50 of the three-match series from 184 deliveries. Dharmasena battled defiantly for just five hours, marshalling some spirited tailend resistance, following Gurusinha's 5 1/2- hour marathon. The Sri Lankans lost only one wicket during each of the first two sessions of the fourth day's play. He and Asanka Gurusinha denied the Zimbabwe bowlers a break- through on Sunday until the final ball before lunch, Chaminda Vaas was next to fall, edging the medium pace of Guy Whittal to Dekker at second slip for 14. He had given Dharmasena invaluable support in an eighth- wicket partnership of 29 in 19 overs during which period Zimbabwe cap- tain Andy Flower had taken the second new ball. But their efforts were not enough to prevent Zimbabwe enforcing the follow-on for the first time in their short test history with Streak taking three for 68 and Jarvis finishing with the remark- able figures of three for 30 from 34 overs. The Zimbabwean pace duo were not yet finished. Streak made the early breakthrough when opener Roshan Mahanama (4) gloved a lift- ing delivery to third slip. Then, in the final over of the day, Gurusinha was superbly caught down the leg-side by wicketkeeper Wayne James for 10. Gurusinha, attempting to leg glance the left-arm seam of Malcolm Jarvis, provided James with his sixth catch of the match. (Thanks : Reuter reports) Contributed by Vicky (vigneswa@risky.ecs.umass.edu)