3-mob.com 
Zimbabwe put on a sterling performance knocking the stuffing out of Sri Lanka winning 79-49 in their Vitality Netball World Cup debut.
The story was always going to be how the 5 foot 2 Sharleen Makusha with Feslistas Kwangwa would tackle the 6 foot 10 Tharjini Sivalingan, the goal shooter for Sri Lanka.
The plan was clear from the beginning as the Gems scored from a rapid turnover for Joice Takaidza to score the first goal.
Sivalingan caused the early scares as she looked she would have a field day but soon enough Makusha and Kwangwa made sure supply was limited for her.
A combination of agility and skill defined the performance with Ursula Ndlovu providing not just a perfect foil but shortening the time between defence and attack with some deft handling for passes.
While Sivalingan for three quarters scored all the goals for Sri Lanka, Ndlovu contributed 14 off 15 to take the pressure of the Australia-based Takaidza.
And when Ndlovu along with Makusha had to come off with injuries, the replacements in Sharon Bwanali and Rudo Karume took it all like a duck on water’s back.
Kwangwa was integral with seven intercepts of the the 13. With 16 goals coming from counter-attacking positions, this will put Zimbabwe in good stead.
In the end, player of the match Takaidza scored 59 of Zimbabwe’s goals and the Gems showed they belong at the stage.
Next, Australia and with the top three moving to the next round, Zimbabwe will be happy to have registered a win.
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