Matheesha Pathirana bagged four wickets to power Sri Lanka to a nail-biting four-run victory against Afghanistan in the first T20I of the three-match series, in Dambulla.
Sri Lanka had to defend 11 runs in the final over and ordered Vinula Fernando, who had earlier conceded 38 runs in three overs, to bowl the over. Fernando controlled the situation well, conceding only six goals. Afghanistan captainIbrahim Zadran fought till the end with an unbeaten 67 from 55 balls but just missed the mark.
However, it was Masisha Pathirana who changed the game in Sri Lanka’s favor with some economical bowling in the 19th over. The fast bowler, who played only his second T20I, came on fire in his penultimate over as he took two wickets for three runs. In both cases, he was sent off for speeding over 150km/h.
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Sri Lanka got a flyer after being asked to bat first and scored 51 runs in the first powerplay. However, the only downside was that he lost three wickets in the process. Pathum Nissanka fell back while chasing a long goal. Kusal Mendis tried to hit the ball to third man and got the advantage, but Dhananjaya de Silva holed out at deep square leg.
To make matters worse, the hosts easily lost Charice Asaranka, who hit wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz for three runs. Suddenly, in the 8th over, the innings was in disarray at 55 for 4.
From then on, Captain Wanindu Hasaranga’s counter-attacks grabbed attention. With a blistering 32-ball, 67-run knock comprising seven fourths and three sixes, Hasaranga saved Sri Lanka’s innings. He formed a 40-ball 72-run partnership with Sadheera Samarawickrama, who contributed just 18 runs. Sri Lanka were 146-6 after 16 overs when Hasaraga was dismissed.
Afghanistan fought back again as the combination of Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen Ul Haq and Karim Jannat worsened the situation for the hosts and the bottom team could not escape I took advantage of it. Sri Lanka was last with 160 points and was eliminated in the second round.
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