Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine slams his 20th ODI fifty: Stats
Craig Ervine led Zimbabwe from the front in the 2nd ODI against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. He smashed a composed 82 as the visitors were bundled out for 208 (44.4 overs) after electing to bat. He did not receive support from the other end, with Ryan Burl scoring a crucial 31. Ervine also completed 6,000 international runs during the innings.
A solid knock from Ervine
Ervine came to the middle after Zimbabwe lost opener Tinashe Kamunhukamwe on the match's third ball. He then added 60 runs with Joylord Gumbie for the second wicket. Although Zimbabwe crossed 100, they lost Milton Shumba and Sikandar Raza soon after. Ervine and Burl then took the tourists past 180. The former then departed for 82 off 102 balls (9 fours and 1 six).
20 ODI fifties for Ervine
As mentioned, Ervine now has 20 half-centuries in ODI cricket. The left-handed batter, who made his debut in 2010, has raced to 3,376 runs from 118 ODIs at an average of 33.42. The tally includes four tons. Ervine's strike rate in the format is on the lower side (76.19). He also raced past 400 ODI runs against Sri Lanka.
Seven ODI fifties away from home
Ervine now has seven ODI half-centuries away from home (home of the opposition). Interestingly, the Zimbabwe batter owns as many ODI fifties at home. Six of his 50+ scores have come at neutral venues.
6,000 international runs
During the match, Ervine became the eighth player to score 6,000 runs across formats for Zimbabwe. He is behind Andy Flower (11,580), Grant Flower (10,028), Brendan Taylor (9,938), Hamilton Masakadza (9,543), Alistair Campbell (8,043), Sean Williams (7,681), and Sikandar Raza (7,105) in terms of international runs for Zimbabwe. Ervine completed 6,000 international runs in his 203rd encounter.
