Sri Lanka (Commonwealth) _ In the last game of the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka easily defeated the visitors by seven wickets on Wednesday in Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Sri Lanka finished a perfect three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, thanks to an outstanding century from opener Pathum Nissanka.
In the third and final match, the hosts were chasing 267 to win, but Nissanka scorched 101 balls for 118, giving them an easy seven-wicket victory with 88 balls remaining. Nissanka’s century was the second in the series and her sixth in ODIs.
With 346 runs at the end of the three-match series, Nissanka’s total was the highest by a Sri Lankan player. In three ODIs against Zimbabwe in 1994, Roshan Mahanama had scored 267 runs, but Nissanka’s performance is now by far the greatest. In the globe, it is also the fourth-highest total in a three-match series.Nissanka became the first Sri Lankan player to reach a double hundred in an ODI match after posting an undefeated 210 in the opening match.In just 52 innings, he broke Upul Tharanga’s record of 63 innings to become the fastest Sri Lankan to reach the 2,000 ODI runs milestone.
Nissanka expressed his gratitude to his father, his first coach, saying he was “really thankful” for the opportunity to break the record.With the openers scoring 173 runs for the first wicket in just 138 deliveries, Sri Lanka easily reached the mark.Avishka Fernando started the run chase by hitting back-to-back sixes off Fareed Ahmad to reach his half-century in only 24 balls.
However, he gave up his wicket when nine runs from a century were still in reach, and his 91 came off 66 balls with 10 fours and five massive sixes.Nissanka was comparatively sluggish off the bat, achieving his fifty in fifty-five balls, but Afghanistan’s bowlers ran out of ideas and the following fifty arrived in thirty-four balls. Skipper Kusal Mendis entered the celebration, hitting four sixes and sprinting to 40 off 29 balls.With just 14 runs required to win, Nissanka was bowled out for 118. He smashed two sixes and sixteen fours out of 101 balls faced.Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the two veteran spinners who are out with injuries, were sorely missed by the tourists.
“We didn’t get the desired outcome,” Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi stated. “Sri Lanka played really good cricket in all three departments, so credit goes to them.”Afghanistan chose to bat first, but their performance was not impressive, particularly given their innings-ending collapse.With the score at 223 for four going into the last ten overs, a total far over 300 looked certain. However, they were bowled out in less than 50 overs after losing the final six wickets for just 43 runs. Afghanistan had a strong foundation thanks to half-centuries scored by Rahmat Shah (65 years old) and Azmatullah Omarzai (54 years old), but the middle order fell apart without resistance.Asitha Fernando, Dunith Wellalage, and Akila Dananjaya each finished with two wickets, while Pramod Madushan of Sri Lanka was the most effective bowler with three.Dananjaya, an off-spinner, was returning to the side after having to change his style of play in 2021 due to a suspected suspicious action.
Nissanka was comparatively sluggish off the bat, achieving his fifty in fifty-five balls, but Afghanistan’s bowlers ran out of ideas and the following fifty arrived in thirty-four balls.
Captain Kusal Mendis joined the celebration, hitting four sixes and sprinting to 40 off 29 balls. With just 14 runs required to win, Nissanka was bowled out for 118. He smashed two sixes and sixteen fours out of 101 balls faced.
Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the two veteran spinners who are out with injuries, were sorely missed by the tourists. We weren’t happy with the outcome,” Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi stated. “Sri Lanka played really good cricket in all three departments, so credit goes to them.”
Afghanistan chose to bat first, but their performance was not impressive, particularly given their innings-ending collapse. With the score at 223 for four going into the last ten overs, a total far over 300 looked certain. However, they were bowled out in less than 50 overs after losing the final six wickets for just 43 runs.
In the first One-Day International, Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan with ease by 42 runs, and in the second, they won convincingly by 155 runs. The three-match T20 series between the sides will begin on February 17 at Dambulla.
