Sri Lanka ‘A’ are in a dominant position at the end of the third day’s play of the one-off 4-day encounter against Afghanistan ‘A’ at P. Sara Oval Grounds, Colombo.
The day began with the visitors on 18/1 in reply to Sri Lanka ‘A’ first innings score of 435. The overnight batter Bahir Shah was the first to be dismissed on Day 2 as left-arm spinner Wanuja Sahan trapped him in front for 23 runs.
>>Sri Lanka ‘A’ take upper hand on rain-hit Day 2
The hosts managed to take two more wickets in the morning session as spinners Nishan Peiris and Sonal Dinusha picked up the scalps of Rahmanullah and the opening batter Imran Mir before the lunch break.
The Sri Lanka ‘A’ bowlers managed to take firm grip on the game in the post-lunch session as they scalped the remaining 6 wickets for 83 runs. The left-arm spinner Wanuja Sahan stood out with a brilliant spell – 5/58. The off-spinner Nishan Peiris also grabbed 3 wickets for 37 runs.
>>Sonal Dinusha steals the headlines with a century on Day 1
After been asked to follow on, Afghanistan ‘A’ showed an improved batting effort in their second essay as they put on 108/2 at the close of play on Day 3. The visitors are still trailing by 129 runs with 8 wickets in hand.
Brief Scores
Sri Lanka ‘A’– 435 (101.3) Sonal Dinusha 145, Wanuja Sahan 75, Lahiru Udara 65, Vishad Randika 63, Oshada Fernando 32, Ahan Wickramasinghe 27, Zia-ur-Rehman 6/127, Naveed Zadran 2/94
Afghanistan ‘A’ – 198 (67.5) Imran Mir 62, Abdul Hadi 45, Ijaz Ahmad 28, Bahir Shah 23, Wanuja Sahan 5/58, Nishan Peiris 3/37 & 108/2 (37) Imran Mir 51*, Ihsanullah Janat 27, Ijaz Ahmad 23*
Stumps – Day 3
