Sri Lanka won the toss at the party at Premadasa and decided to bat first. Both, the hosts and Zimbabwe, are through to the Super Eight already, but for Sri Lanka it was important to get in their injury replacements.

The big one, of course, was Matheesha Pathirana, whose tournament ended with a calf injury sustained during the match against Australia. His replacement in the squad, Dilshan Madushanka, came straight into the XI. Also given a look-in was Pramod Madushan, the fast bowler who was already in the squad. In order to organise this virtual bowl-off between Madushan and Madushanka, Sri Lanka rested their lead fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera.

Zimbabwe made no change to the XI that shocked Australia in this World Cup. They were looking to bowl first anyway because of the forecast for some drizzle later on, and hoping to bat in better batting conditions once the lights came on.

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka,  Kusal Perera,  Kusal Mendis (wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Dasun Shanaka (capt),  Kamindu Mendis,  Dunith Wellalage,  Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana,  Pramod Madushan,  Dilshan Madushanka

Zimbabwe:  Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk),  Dion Myers,  Sikandar Raza (capt),  Ryan Burl,  Tony Munyonga,  Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza,  Graeme Cremer,  Blessing Muzarabani

[Cricinfo]

Peru’s Congress has voted to appoint former judge and left-wing lawmaker Jose Maria Balcazar as interim president, replacing the right-wing leader Jose Jeri a day after his removal.

Wednesday’s vote ushers in Peru’s ninth president in a decade. Balcazar’s term, however, will be short.

In just 53 days, on April 12, the country will head to the ballot box to vote for a new president. If no candidate gains more than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off will be held in June.

Traditionally, Peru’s president-elects are inaugurated on the country’s Independence Day in late July. That ceremony will mark the end of Balcazar’s leadership.

Balcazar’s short tenure is the latest sign of turbulence in Peru’s government. Of Peru’s last eight presidents, four have been impeached and removed from office, and two have resigned before their term’s end.

The last president to serve a complete term was Ollanta Humala, whose presidency ended in July 2016.

Balcazar’s ascent to the presidency, however, was marked by its own turmoil. In an initial round of voting, centre-right lawyer Maria del Carmen Alva, 58, and Balcazar, 83, came out ahead, with 43 and 46 votes respectively.

But they both fell short of the 59 votes needed to be president, so another round of voting was announced. The left-wing party Together for Peru, however, decided to boycott the second round.

Balcazar ultimately won after a tally of the 113 congressional votes cast. He received 60 votes.

The prospect of Balcazar’s victory in the vote sparked outrage and frustration among some right-wing politicians, who denounced him on social media.

(Aljazeera)