Watchful half-centuries from openers Prince Masvaure and Kevin Kasuza set Zimbabwe on track for a healthy first-innings total, on a flat Harare Sports Club pitch.
Another fifty from Craig Ervine, batting at No. 3, then consolidated Zimbabwe’s position and carried them to a scoreline that constituted an excellent first day of Test cricket in over a year.
The hosts only made 189 for 2 in 84 overs, but there was almost a sense that this was a team striving to affirm that they belonged at this level, after the hiatus that had much more to do with administrative flaws, than any fault of the cricketers themselves. Although Sri Lanka never allowed Zimbabwe to get away from them, the hosts certainly had the better of day one.
