Harare: Muttiah Muralitharan took two wickets in an effective final over to war Zimbabwe victory push  as Sri Lanka won the rain-hit third ODI by five runs on Monday. Murali finished with 20 for two in six overs, fellow spinner Ajantha mendis took two wickets for 36 and seamer Thilan Thushara 2 for 31 as Zimbabwe, chasing 172, came up short on 166 for seven to go 3-0 down in the five match series.

Zimbabwe were down and out at the end of the second ODI but they have given their critics a sound reply here by pushing Sri Lanka to the finish. Zimbabwe were the favourites to win this game after Masakadza and Sibanda gave them a superb start, and the 68-run partnership between Taibu and Masakdza had more or less sealed it for the home team. But timely breakthroughs by Mendis and Kulasekara gave Sri Lanka a sniff at pulling it back. Mendis proved expensive, and went for 11 in the penultimate over. With ten required off the final over, it was anybody's game, but Matsikenyeri's dismissal off the very first ball proved decisive and settled the game for Sri Lanka.

Brief Score: Sri Lanka 171 for 7 (Sangakkara 57, Mupariwa 4-39) beat Zimbabwe 166 for 7 (Masakadza 77, Muralitharan 2-20) by 5 runs
Full Scorecard