Sri Lanka Won the Series 2-0

2024.02.19

Mathews bashed 42* off 22 with the bat and then returned with figures of 2 for 9 in two overs as Afghanistan went down by 72 runs.

The Afghan captain won the toss in this match at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium and chose to invite Sri Lanka to bat first, same like in the previous game..

The customary openers for Sri Lanka, Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka, who took the field with the Afghan captain’s consent, got the game off to a quick start, each scoring 45 runs off just 23 balls.

But Afghanistan managed to send both Kusal and Pathum back to the stadium, halting Sri Lanka’s innings’ rapid start.

Following that, albeit it took some time, Dhananjaya de Silva and Sadira Samarawickrama, who joined the wicket, put together a partnership of 37 runs for the third wicket. Sri Lanka’s score was also somewhat lower as a result.

Meanwhile, Dhananjaya de Silva, who had amassed 14 runs, was dismissed by Mohammad Nabi, and, like in the last game, skipper Vanindu Hasaranga came onto the field to cause the Afghan bowlers headaches.

Wanindu hit 22 runs off 9 balls, including two massive sixes, to turn around Sri Lanka’s sluggish innings.

Vice-captain Charith Asankata, who took the field after Wanindu’s innings ended, was not permitted to succeed this time either. Furthermore, Sadira was starting her innings a little slowly despite being undefeated at the wicket up until this point.

Angelo Mathews, who entered the field later, likewise had a poor start, leaving the field with four runs after Charith exited.

Because of this, Sri Lanka lost five wickets and only managed to score 138 runs at the conclusion of their 17th over in the innings. And Angelo Mathews scored just nine runs while facing twelve balls.

But Sadira and Mathews, who switched up their game, managed to score 49 runs in the final three overs, taking Sri Lanka’s innings to 187 runs.

Here, Sadira Samarawickrama scored 51 runs off of 42 balls, while in just 22 balls, Angelo Mathews scored 42 runs without giving up. In the first three balls of the 19th over, Azmatullah Omarzai scored four sixes, including three straight from Mathews.

Afghanistan’s bowlers, Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohommad Nabi, were effective in taking two wickets.

This time, the Afghan batters who took the field in an attempt to chase down the massive target from Sri Lanka were unable to get off to a good start.

They lost 4 more wickets in 31 runs before the conclusion of the 5th over of Afghanistan’s innings, despite Mathews, who started the opening bowling for Sri Lanka, taking out Hazratullah Zaza in the first over.

Nevertheless, the subsequent arrivals at the wicket, Karim Janat and Mohommad Nabi, attempted to provide some solidity to the Afghan innings.

But much as in the previous game, Dasun Shanaka was able to terminate Nabi’s innings, and skipper Vanindu then claimed his 100th T20 wicket by dismissing Najibullah Zadran.

Additionally, the most successful batsman in the Afghan innings, Karim Janat, was removed as Vanindu’s 101st wicket. Following that, the quick bowling of Matisha Pathirana did not provide any escape for the Afghan back row batters who came into the field. As a result, Sri Lanka won this match with ease, scoring 72 runs.

Angelo, Binura Fernando, Vanindu, and Matisha bowled well for Sri Lanka, getting two wickets.

The man of the match award went to Angelo Mathews as well because of his versatility.

With one game left, Sri Lanka was able to defeat Afghanistan in the Twenty20 series thanks to this win.

Sri Lanka 187 for 6 (Samarawickrama 51, Mathews 42*, Nabi 2-25) beat Afghanistan 115 (Hasaranga 2-19, Mathews 2-9) by 72 runs

@charith