Sri Lanka completed a Test and one-day international whitewash over Zimbabwe when they won the second Test match at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Monday by an innings and 254 runs.
This was marginally better than their victory in Harare last week when the margin was an innings and 240 runs.
Sri Lanka won the one-day series 5-0.
Zimbabwe, without most of their senior players who are at odds with the country’s cricket authorities, were bowled out for 228 in their first innings and 231 in the second. Sri Lanka bludgeoned the young Zimbabweans with 713 before declaring with only three wickets down.
Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu was named man of the series and Kumar Sangakkara man of the match.
These two had put on 438 runs for the second wicket, which sealed the match well before the token finish on Monday.
Both recorded their career best innings, Atapattu with 249 and Sangakkara with 270.
Muttiah Muralitharan took his career total of wickets to 527 on Monday by capturing four Zimbabweans. This leaves him 10 ahead of Shane Warne, who will begin to overhaul him during the two Tests Australia play against Zimbabwe in the next three weeks.
Zimbabwe began the day on 44-2 and in the first hour-and-a-half Brendan Taylor and Dion Ebrahim moved the score to 125 in a show of defiance before Taylor fell, almost inevitably, to Muralitharan.
The Sri Lanka spinner would have preferred the wicket of Dion Ebrahim, who had doubted the legality of his delivery in an interview and paid for his opinion with a one-match ban.
Ebrahim made 42 before falling to Sanath Jayasuriya.
After the early partnership between him and Taylor, wickets fell frequently as the Sri Lankans resumed their customary dominance.
Zimbabwe will now have to face Australia over two Tests and three one-day internationals starting next week. Sri Lanka will then travel to Australia for a series.
Heath Streak had to pay at the gate once more to get into the ground. He said he was unable to add anything about attempts to resolve the impasse caused by his sacking six weeks ago.
”With the ICC [International Cricket Council] here at the moment, we must just wait and see what happens,” he said. — Sapa-AFP