With this match played on a strip towards the western edge of the square at Khettarama, one boundary was significantly longer than the other. These dimensions played a role in Zimbabwe’s batting strategy, Bennett revealed.
“They’ve got quality bowlers, and parking our egos there – especially towards the bigger boundary with the match-ups, and especially with the wind blowing from that direction, was one of the things we spoke about there in the middle,” Bennett said. “I think it was more about just hitting the ball on the ground, trying to get the twos, and running them hard. I think we did that well to get to 170. I thought it was a good score.”
“I think the main thing was just to stick to my processes,” he said. “We got off to a good start there with Marumani. I started a bit slow, but I think that was the type of wicket where you get yourself in, and it gets easier. Especially our powerplay, to get 47 without loss, that set a good tone for our innings.”
The victory now puts Zimbabwe in sight of a Super Eights spot, level with Sri Lanka in Group B with two wins from two games (Zimbabwe having already beaten Oman). Their next fixture is against Ireland on Tuesday, with a match against Sri Lanka to follow two days later.
“It’s a great start to get two out of two wins this tournament. We’ve got two more games left in the pool matches, and we just need to go back to the drawing board and not to get too far ahead of ourselves. Hopefully we can come out on top of those as well.”