Afghanistan registered a convincing 6-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the 1st ODI between the sides played today (02nd June) at Hambantota International Cricket Stadium.
Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bowl first. The speedster Matheesha Pathirana and wrist-spinner Dushan Hemantha made their ODI debuts for Sri Lanka today.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(w), Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka(c), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan Hemantha, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Lahiru Kumara
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik
Sri Lanka’s new ODI opening pair Karunaratne and Nissanka couldn’t provide a solid start as expected from the duo as the former was caught behind for just 4 runs in the 3rd over. Mendis and Mathews got into double-digit scores but couldn’t convert them to substantial scores as Sri Lanka were reeling at 61/3 at the end of 15 overs.
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Nissanka looked good in his short stay at the crease but a misjudged pull shot played against Mujeeb Ur Rahman brought curtains to his fighting knock putting Sri Lanka into further trouble at 84/4.
However, Asalanka and De Silva forged an important 99-run stand for the 5th wicket to rescue Sri Lanka. Asalanka held the innings together with a sparkling 91 while De Silva chipped in with a useful knock of 51 runs.
The debutant Hemantha who came to bat at No. 8 played a cameo worth 22 runs off 20 balls with a four and a six to take Sri Lanka to a competitive total of 268. Farooqi and Malik starred with the ball for the visitors taking 2 wickets each.
In reply, Afghanistan faced an early setback, losing their attacking opening batter Gurbaz for just 14 runs as Kumara bowled him in the 3rd over of his first spell.
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However, the opening batter Zadran and Shah revived the innings, building a massive partnership of 147 runs off 148 balls for the 2nd wicket which sets the tone for the visitors’ victory.
Zadran agonizingly fell short by 2 runs of a well-deserved century as he made 98 runs off 98 balls with 11 fours and 2 sixes.
Shah (55) and skipper Shahidi (38) also chipped in with crucial knocks as the visitors crossed over the line quite convincingly in the 47th over with 6 wickets in hand.
The speedster Kasun Rajitha was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka as he bagged 2 scalps for 49 runs while Lahiru Kumara and Matheesha Pathirana picked up a wicket each.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | c Hashmatullah Shahidi b Mujeeb ur Rahman | 38 | 59 | 5 | 0 | 64.41 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c Rahmat Shah b Fazal Haq Farooqi | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Rahmat Shah b Fazal Haq Farooqi | 11 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 64.71 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Fareed Ahmad | 12 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Charith Asalanka | run out (Rahmanullah Gurbaz) | 91 | 95 | 12 | 0 | 95.79 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | b Mohammad Nabi | 51 | 59 | 5 | 0 | 86.44 |
| Dasun Shanaka | b Noor Ahmad | 17 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 106.25 |
| Dushan Hemantha | c Noor Ahmad b Fareed Ahmad | 22 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 110.00 |
| Lahiru Kumara | not out | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Kasun Rajitha | b Azmatullah Omarzai | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Matheesha Pathirana | run out (Hashmatullah Shahidi) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Extras | 17 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 1, w 14, pen 0) |
| Total | 268/10 (50 Overs, RR: 5.36) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-6 (2.2) Dimuth Karunaratne, 2-38 (8.2) Kusal Mendis, 3-61 (14.4) Angelo Mathews, 4-84 (19.2) Pathum Nissanka, 5-183 (37.1) Dhananjaya de Silva, 6-215 (42.5) Dasun Shanaka, 7-263 (48.4) Dushan Hemantha, 8-264 (49.1) Charith Asalanka, 9-264 (49.2) Kasun Rajitha, 10-268 (49.6) Matheesha Pathirana, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fazal Haq Farooqi | 9 | 0 | 58 | 2 | 6.44 | |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 8 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 4.38 | |
| Fareed Ahmad | 8 | 0 | 43 | 2 | 5.38 | |
| Mujeeb ur Rahman | 10 | 1 | 45 | 1 | 4.50 | |
| Noor Ahmad | 8 | 0 | 54 | 1 | 6.75 | |
| Mohammad Nabi | 7 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 4.43 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | b Lahiru Kumara | 14 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 60.87 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | c Sadeera Samarawickrama b Kasun Rajitha | 98 | 98 | 11 | 2 | 100.00 |
| Rahmat Shah | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Matheesha Pathirana | 55 | 80 | 3 | 0 | 68.75 |
| Hashmatullah Shahidi | c Kusal Mendis b Kasun Rajitha | 38 | 47 | 4 | 0 | 80.85 |
| Mohammad Nabi | not out | 27 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 96.43 |
| Najibullah Zadran | not out | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 116.67 |
| Extras | 30 (b 1 , lb 6 , nb 1, w 22, pen 0) |
| Total | 269/4 (46.5 Overs, RR: 5.74) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-25 (5.2) Rahmanullah Gurbaz, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasun Rajitha | 10 | 0 | 49 | 2 | 4.90 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 4.3 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 4.88 | |
| Matheesha Pathirana | 8.5 | 0 | 66 | 1 | 7.76 | |
| Dasun Shanaka | 4.3 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 7.44 | |
| Dushan Hemantha | 9 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 5.56 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 10 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 4.40 | |
 at Hambantota International Cricket Stadium.){kind=link}