Zimbabwe delivered a clinical all-round performance to overwhelm Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the second T20I tri-series match in Rawalpindi on Thursday, combining composure with the bat and ruthless precision with the ball.

Sent in under bright evening lights, Zimbabwe set the early tempo with intent.

Openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani were proactive against the new ball, guiding their side to 26 in the first three overs.

That momentum was checked when Marumani, on 10, was undone by Maheesh Theekshana’s clever change of pace, smartly caught-and-bowled as he attempted to accelerate the scoring.

Brendan Taylor’s brief stay ended on 11, but Zimbabwe’s innings found renewed impetus through a well-constructed, authoritative partnership between Bennett and Sikandar Raza.

The pair added 61 runs in seven overs, blending aggression with calm accumulation.

Bennett, matching his 49 from the previous outing, fell to a mistimed sweep that picked out short fine leg, while Raza provided the backbone of the innings with a sparkling 47 off 32 balls.

His knock featured crisp strokeplay, including two sixes and three fours, anchoring Zimbabwe toward a competitive total.

Ryan Burl injected late energy with an 11-ball 18 featuring two towering sixes, though the lower order could not fully maximise the platform.

Zimbabwe’s innings closed at 162 for eight in 20 overs.

Wanindu Hasaranga led Sri Lanka’s attack with three for 32, while seamer Eshan Malinga impressed with figures of two for 27.

If Zimbabwe’s batting was solid, their bowling and fielding were nothing short of ruthless.

Richard Ngarava struck with the score still showing only a wide, removing Pathum Nissanka for a duck with a delivery that shaped away late.

The pressure intensified in the next over when Tinotenda Maposa induced Kusal Perera (4) into a skied mishit, brilliantly judged by Ngarava at fine leg.

Reeling at six for two, Sri Lanka never recovered.

A disastrous run-out in the seventh over saw Bhanuka Rajapaksa sell his partner Kusal Mendis short for six.

Moments later, Rajapaksa himself perished for 12 attempting a desperate heave off Brad Evans.

At the halfway mark, Sri Lanka had limped to 45 for four, still needing 118 from the last 10 overs.

Hope briefly rested on captain Dasun Shanaka, who showed grit and authority in his 34 off 25 balls, striking a few clean blows as Zimbabwe’s bowlers maintained unerring discipline.

But when Burl found a thin edge through to Taylor in the 14th over, Sri Lanka slumped to 75 for six and the contest was effectively sealed.

The lower order offered little resistance – caught between survival and counterattack but managing neither.

Raza bowled Kamindu Mendis for nine to tighten the screws, while Evans mopped up the tail to finish with superb figures of three for nine, a reward for his disciplined death bowling.

Ngarava’s two for 15 capped another polished outing from the left-arm quick.

Sri Lanka were bowled out for 95 on the final ball, sealing a resounding victory for Zimbabwe built on sharp intensity, smart cricket and an excellent all-round team effort.

Zimbabwe pushed Pakistan far harder than the five-wicket margin suggests, but a handful of missed opportunities ultimately left them short in the opening match of the T20 International triangular series in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

After being sent in, Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani gave Zimbabwe a dream start with an explosive 72-run opening stand.

Bennett dominated the early scoring, setting the tone by cracking two boundaries in the first over as Shaheen Shah Afridi conceded 13 runs from his opening burst.

Marumani soon found fluency of his own before falling for a lively 30 off 22 balls, caught at deep square leg off a full toss from Mohammad Nawaz.

Brendan Taylor arrived with positive intent, striking two early fours, but he was run out for 14 attempting a risky second run.

At 91 for two after 11 overs, Zimbabwe were superbly placed, with Bennett inching towards a deserved half-century.

But on 49 – having faced 36 deliveries – he chipped a simple return catch to Saim Ayub, sparking a collapse.

Ryan Burl (8) holed out off Nawaz at 106, Tony Munyonga was run out for three at 112 and Tashinga Musekiwa was bowled by Abrar Ahmed for two as the innings unravelled.

Brad Evans fell for one to Afridi, while Tinotenda Maposa was bowled for a single in the penultimate over as Zimbabwe tumbled to 128 for eight.

Captain Sikandar Raza, who had not seen much of the strike, then steadied the innings.

He gathered momentum late and finished unbeaten on 34 from 24 balls – including 12 in the final over – steering Zimbabwe to a competitive 147 for eight.

Nawaz was Pakistan’s most effective bowler, taking two for 22 in four tidy overs.

Pakistan’s chase began briskly, with Sahibzada Farhan and Ayub racing to 27 without loss in four overs, but Zimbabwe hit back through an inspired spell from Evans.

An excellent off-cutter uprooted Farhan for 16 and, three balls later, another off-cutter trapped Babar Azam lbw without scoring.

When Maposa removed Salman Agha lbw for one, Pakistan slumped to 30 for three in the sixth over.

Ayub’s scratchy innings ended on 22 from 26 balls when he miscued a slog-sweep off Graeme Cremer, caught at deep square leg to leave the hosts 54 for four in the 10th over and under genuine pressure.

But Fakhar Zaman and Usman Khan wrested back control with a rapid 61-run stand at almost 10 an over.

Zaman, who struck 45 off 32 balls, eventually fell attempting a ramp off Richard Ngarava, edging through to Taylor.

At that point Pakistan still required 33 from the last four overs.

Nawaz joined Usman and kept the scoreboard moving.

Zimbabwe still had a sniff with 17 needed from the last two overs, but a few lapses came at the worst moment – a dropped catch in the deep, a misfield that trickled away for four and a waist-high no-ball in Evans’ final over that allowed Pakistan to plunder 12 vital runs.

With the pressure lifted, Nawaz sealed the contest in style, striking the first two balls of Maposa’s final over for consecutive fours to finish unbeaten on 21, while Usman ended on a composed 37 not out.

Despite his unfortunate last over, Evans emerged as Zimbabwe’s standout bowler with impressive figures of two for 26.