Hasaranga and Pathirana return home with a suspenseful tale for Sri Lanka

Hasaranga and Pathirana return home with a suspenseful tale for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka prevailed by four runs in a thrilling inaugural Twenty20 international match versus Afghanistan in front of a sold-out crowd in Dambulla.

Afghanistan 156 for 9 (Zadran 67*, Pathirana 4-24) lost against Sri Lanka 160 (Hasaranga 67, Farooqi 3-25) by four runs.

Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan in a thrilling opening Twenty20 International match, winning by four runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series in front of a sold-out crowd in Dambulla.

After being taken for 38 runs in three overs before that, Binura Fernando proved to be a formidable opponent in the end, defending 11 runs in the last over.

Ibrahim Zadran was at the other end of the bat, having batted through the innings unscathed with a 67 off 55 balls, but he was painfully short.

However, Matheesha Pathirana, who finished with statistics of 4 for 24, was the one who swung the match in the hosts’ favour with an amazing last over in which he took two wickets for just three runs.

After being put to bat earlier, Wanindu Hasaranga’s brilliant counterpunch knock of 67 off 32 was largely responsible for Sri Lanka being bowled out for 160. However, Afghanistan had taken a number of wickets before Hasaranga’s innings to limit Sri Lanka to a respectable total.

With Ibrahim at the crease, Afghanistan appeared to have the game under control for the most of their chase, but Pathirana’s bowlers, leading Sri Lanka’s bowling attack, performed well by taking wickets at critical times and closing the gap.

Powerplay with lots of action

The characteristics of the wickets had been the topic of conversation throughout the ODI series, with much praise given to the batting-friendly tracks in Pallekele.

So would Dambulla, which was hosting its first men’s international in five years, do the same? Afghanistan, on the other hand, decided to bowl first, watching to see how the wicket was played before making a move, whereas Sri Lanka had to judge it as they went.

It didn’t take long for Sri Lanka to respond to the question as they blasted a robust 51 runs in the powerplay.

The only drawback was that Afghanistan had skillfully taken advantage of Sri Lanka’s recent aggression, costing them three wickets in the process.

Dhananjaya de Silva dragged one straight to deep square leg, Pathum Nissanka edged through flaying at a wide one, and Kusal Mendis grabbed a leading edge on an attempted scoop down to third man.

Shortly after, Asalanka attempted to pull a long jump down leg, but could only feather an edge to the keeper, making it four. Suddenly, halfway through the eighth over, Sri Lanka was down to 55 for four.

The floating counter of Wow-nindu

Due to the genuine possibility of blowing a bright start for Sri Lanka, captain Hasaranga decided to go up the order, passing both Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka.

With disastrous outcomes, Hasaranga’s job as a floating pinch-hitter was first investigated in the LPL last year. The question now was whether he could carry it over to the international arena.

The answer to that had to wait a bit longer due to an injury sustained before last year’s World Cup, but he was eventually able to demonstrate his hitting prowess here.

Hasaranga hammered 67 off just 32 deliveries in a blitzkrieg knock. He shared a 72-run partnership with Sadeera Samarawickrama off 40 balls, of which the latter scored just 18 runs. Hasaranga had lead Sri Lanka to 146 for 6 by the time he was removed in the 16th over.

Afghanistan retaliate quickly

With their distinct paces and lengths, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-Ul-Haq, and Karim Janat proved to be too formidable for the Lankan lower order and tail to overcome.

In the end, Afghanistan ensured that Sri Lanka didn’t even finish their 20 overs, even with Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka present to fire at the death. Only 14 runs were added over the last four wickets, with 12 of those coming from Mathews and Shanaka, as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 160.

Then, with a bang, they started using the bat. Using the powerplay is typically the key to finishing mediocre pursuits, and Afghanistan adhered to the plan exactly in this regard. Except for the opening over, at least one boundary was scored in each of the next five powerplay overs.

After Ibrahim took the lead, they went on to score 57 runs at the expense of just one wicket in the first six overs.

Sri Lanka is making progress.

Hasaranga made much use of Sri Lanka’s formidable bowling resources, having talked about them prior to the match.

After coming on inside the powerplay in the first over, which was unusual but justified given Afghanistan’s quick start, he struck in his second over, slipping a googly past Gulbadin Naib’s leg side hack.

After Pathirana was introduced in the following over, there was another fall. Two overs later, Dasun Shanaka, with his deft speed changes, snagged two in the space of three balls. In the same way, Afghanistan was 86 for 5.

Pathirana makes a clutch move

But the drama was far from over, keeping with the game’s theme. The match came down to the wire thanks to a 39 off 28 partnership between Karim Janat and Ibrahim. With five wickets remaining, Afghanistan had a chance to win with 36 needed off 24.

But Pathirana had other plans. Pathirana’s slingy motion kept the blistering length ball lower than intended, trapping Janat in front with no way to respond.

As Afghanistan was down to 150 for 9 going into the last over, the 21-year-old saved the best for last, producing two incredibly quick fuller ones two overs later to remove Noor Ahmad and Naveen-Ul-Haq.

There, Binura made amends by hitting a string of well-placed wide yorkers that Ibrahim was unable to get away from, helping Sri Lanka to a nervous win.

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Sri Lanka prevailed by four runs in a thrilling inaugural Twenty20 international match versus Afghanistan in front of a sold-out crowd in Dambulla.

Afghanistan 156 for 9 (Zadran 67*, Pathirana 4-24) lost against Sri Lanka 160 (Hasaranga 67, Farooqi 3-25) by four runs.

Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan in a thrilling opening Twenty20 International match, winning by four runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series in front of a sold-out crowd in Dambulla.

After being taken for 38 runs in three overs before that, Binura Fernando proved to be a formidable opponent in the end, defending 11 runs in the last over.

Ibrahim Zadran was at the other end of the bat, having batted through the innings unscathed with a 67 off 55 balls, but he was painfully short.

However, Matheesha Pathirana, who finished with statistics of 4 for 24, was the one who swung the match in the hosts’ favour with an amazing last over in which he took two wickets for just three runs.

After being put to bat earlier, Wanindu Hasaranga’s brilliant counterpunch knock of 67 off 32 was largely responsible for Sri Lanka being bowled out for 160. However, Afghanistan had taken a number of wickets before Hasaranga’s innings to limit Sri Lanka to a respectable total.

With Ibrahim at the crease, Afghanistan appeared to have the game under control for the most of their chase, but Pathirana’s bowlers, leading Sri Lanka’s bowling attack, performed well by taking wickets at critical times and closing the gap.

Powerplay with lots of action

The characteristics of the wickets had been the topic of conversation throughout the ODI series, with much praise given to the batting-friendly tracks in Pallekele.

So would Dambulla, which was hosting its first men’s international in five years, do the same? Afghanistan, on the other hand, decided to bowl first, watching to see how the wicket was played before making a move, whereas Sri Lanka had to judge it as they went.

It didn’t take long for Sri Lanka to respond to the question as they blasted a robust 51 runs in the powerplay.

The only drawback was that Afghanistan had skillfully taken advantage of Sri Lanka’s recent aggression, costing them three wickets in the process.

Dhananjaya de Silva dragged one straight to deep square leg, Pathum Nissanka edged through flaying at a wide one, and Kusal Mendis grabbed a leading edge on an attempted scoop down to third man.

Shortly after, Asalanka attempted to pull a long jump down leg, but could only feather an edge to the keeper, making it four. Suddenly, halfway through the eighth over, Sri Lanka was down to 55 for four.

The floating counter of Wow-nindu

Due to the genuine possibility of blowing a bright start for Sri Lanka, captain Hasaranga decided to go up the order, passing both Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka.

With disastrous outcomes, Hasaranga’s job as a floating pinch-hitter was first investigated in the LPL last year. The question now was whether he could carry it over to the international arena.

The answer to that had to wait a bit longer due to an injury sustained before last year’s World Cup, but he was eventually able to demonstrate his hitting prowess here.

Hasaranga hammered 67 off just 32 deliveries in a blitzkrieg knock. He shared a 72-run partnership with Sadeera Samarawickrama off 40 balls, of which the latter scored just 18 runs. Hasaranga had lead Sri Lanka to 146 for 6 by the time he was removed in the 16th over.

Afghanistan retaliate quickly.

With their distinct paces and lengths, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-Ul-Haq, and Karim Janat proved to be too formidable for the Lankan lower order and tail to overcome.

In the end, Afghanistan ensured that Sri Lanka didn’t even finish their 20 overs, even with Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka present to fire at the death.

Only 14 runs were added over the last four wickets, with 12 of those coming from Mathews and Shanaka, as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 160.

Then, with a bang, they started using the bat. Using the powerplay is typically the key to finishing mediocre pursuits, and Afghanistan adhered to the plan exactly in this regard. Except for the opening over, at least one boundary was scored in each of the next five powerplay overs.

After Ibrahim took the lead, they went on to score 57 runs at the expense of just one wicket in the first six overs.

Sri Lanka is making progress

Hasaranga made much use of Sri Lanka’s formidable bowling resources, having talked about them prior to the match.

After coming on inside the powerplay in the first over, which was unusual but justified given Afghanistan’s quick start, he struck in his second over, slipping a googly past Gulbadin Naib’s leg side hack.

After Pathirana was introduced in the following over, there was another fall.

Two overs later, Dasun Shanaka, with his deft speed changes, snagged two in the space of three balls.

In the same way, Afghanistan was 86 for 5.

Pathirana makes a clutch move

But the drama was far from over, keeping with the game’s theme. The match came down to the wire thanks to a 39 off 28 partnership between Karim Janat and Ibrahim.

With five wickets remaining, Afghanistan had a chance to win with 36 needed off 24.

But Pathirana had other plans. Pathirana’s slingy motion kept the blistering length ball lower than intended, trapping Janat in front with no way to respond.

As Afghanistan was down to 150 for 9 going into the last over, the 21-year-old saved the best for last, producing two incredibly quick fuller ones two overs later to remove Noor Ahmad and Naveen-Ul-Haq. There, Binura

made amends by hitting a string of well-placed wide yorkers that Ibrahim was unable to get away from, helping Sri Lanka to a nervous win.

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