Sri Lanka put together a near perfect performance to thrash Afghanistan by 133 runs to draw level in the 3-match series at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota (MRICS) yesterday (4).
Wanindu Hasaranga and Dhananjaya de Silva performed brilliantly, each taking three wickets, while Dushmantha Chameera made an impressive comeback to the one-day side with figures of 2 for 18.
Defending a challenging target of 324, Sri Lanka's bowlers, especially Chameera and Kasun Rajitha, bowled tight lines and lengths. By the 15th over, Afghanistan had only reached 56 for 1, with the required run rate already exceeding 7.5 runs per over. Although Afghanistan had the firepower to catch up later in the innings, Sri Lanka consistently struck at crucial moments.
Chameera provided an ideal start for Sri Lanka by dismissing Gurbaz in the fourth over. Rahmat Shah and Ibrahim then added 51 runs for the second wicket before Shah was trapped LBW by Dasun Shanaka, just as they were looking to accelerate. This brought Shahidi to the crease, and Afghanistan's batting started to look more threatening. The pair put on 84 runs off 89 deliveries, setting a platform for a late surge.
However, Afghanistan failed to capitalise on the platform they had built. Ibrahim was caught behind off Dhananjaya in the 31st over, followed by Shahidi being trapped LBW by Dhananjaya a few overs later. The spinners took over and controlled the game afterwards. The only exception was Azmatullah Omarzai who played some aggressive shots towards the end, but the match had already slipped away from Afghanistan's grasp.
Skipper Shanaka decided to bat first after winning the toss on a good batting track. The team's game plan for this series was to build a solid foundation and accelerate towards the end. In the first game, Sri Lanka executed the first part well but couldn't deliver the explosive finish.
In this game, contributions from Shanaka, Dhananjaya, and Hasaranga pushed Sri Lanka beyond 300 runs, with Hasaranga scoring 29 off 12 balls. Sri Lanka, who had struggled in the death overs previously, scored 109 runs in the final 10 overs this time. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis provided steady fifties to lay the foundation, with Mendis staying at the crease to play some big shots on his way to a 78-ball 78.
However, it was the partnership between Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, that changed the momentum of the game. After a slow start, the duo accelerated in the next seven overs, scoring 54 runs and increasing the run rate. Their partnership of 88 runs off 86 balls injected momentum into the Sri Lankan innings, which had been struggling due to a high number of dot balls. In total, Sri Lanka played 133 dot balls in their innings, an improvement from the previous game but still an area of concern.
Sri Lanka
Pathum Nissanka lbw b Mohammad Nabi 43
Dimuth Karunaratne lbw b Noor Ahmad 52
Kusal Mendis † c †Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Fareed Ahmad 78
Sadeera Samarawickrama b Mujeeb Ur Rahman 44
Charith Asalanka lbw b Mohammad Nabi 6
Dhananjaya de Silva not out 29
Dasun Shanaka (c) c †Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Fareed Ahmad 23
Wanindu Hasaranga not out 29
Extras 19 (b 6, lb 3, w 10)
TOTAL 323/6 50 Ov (RR: 6.46)
Did not bat: Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha
Fall of wickets: 1-82 (Pathum Nissanka, 15.5 ov), 2-110 (Dimuth Karunaratne, 22.3 ov), 3-198 (Sadeera Samarawickrama, 36.5 ov), 4-213 (Charith Asalanka, 39.5 ov), 5-254 (Kusal Mendis, 43.4 ov), 6-288 (Dasun Shanaka, 47.1 ov)
Bowling
Fazalhaq Farooqi (7-0-44-0), Azmatullah Omarzai (5-0-48-0), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (10-0-39-1), Fareed Ahmad (9-0-61-2), Mohammad Nabi (10-0-52-2), Noor Ahmad (9-0-70-1)
Afghanistan
Rahmanullah Gurbaz † c †Mendis b Chameera 2
Ibrahim Zadran c †Mendis b DM de Silva 54
Rahmat Shah lbw b Shanaka 36
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c) lbw b DM de Silva 57
Najibullah Zadran c Nissanka b DM de Silva 2
Mohammad Nabi c †Mendis b Chameera 2
Azmatullah Omarzai c Shanaka b Theekshana 28
Noor Ahmad b PWH de Silva 3
Mujeeb Ur Rahman lbw b PWH de Silva 0
Fareed Ahmad b PWH de Silva 0
Fazalhaq Farooqi not out 0
Extras 7 (lb 2, w 5)
TOTAL 191 all out 42.1 Ov (RR: 4.52)
Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 3.2 ov), 2-62 (Rahmat Shah, 15.4 ov), 3-146 (Ibrahim Zadran, 30.3 ov), 4-157 (Najibullah Zadran, 32.5 ov), 5-160 (Mohammad Nabi, 33.5 ov), 6-160 (Hashmatullah Shahidi, 34.1 ov), 7-169 (Noor Ahmad, 37.1 ov), 8-169 (Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 37.3 ov), 9-191 (Fareed Ahmad, 41.2 ov), 10-191 (Azmatullah Omarzai, 42.1 ov)
Kasun Rajitha (5-0-26-0), Dushmantha Chameera (7-0-18-2), Maheesh Theekshana (7.1-0-35-1), Dasun Shanaka (4-0-29-1), Wanindu Hasaranga (9-2-42-3), Dhananjaya de Silva (10-0-39-3)