The Afghanistan cricket team achieved a remarkable victory in the third and final T20 match against Sri Lanka at Rangiri Dambulla cricket stadium today. This win enabled them to uphold their pride amidst continuous defeats. They won the final match by a margin of three runs. However, the Sri Lankan cricket team won the series by 2-1.
The Sri Lankan team emerged victorious in the entire series, winning the only test match, the one-day series consisting of three matches, and the T-20 series between the two countries. During this tour, the Afghanistan team won only the last match of the 20/20 series. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka lost the final T-20 match.
The trust built amongst the audience
During the recent cricket tour, the Sri Lankan team managed to regain the confidence of their supporters, which was evident in the high level of interest amongst spectators during the T-20 series held at the Dambulla Stadium.
This was in contrast to the previous tour by the Zimbabwean team, which generated a different level of excitement – possibly due to the weaker performance of the Zimbabwean team.
Afghanistan won by a narrow margin of three runs in the last T20 match at Rangiri Dambulla Cricket Stadium. Despite their best efforts, the Sri Lankan batters could only score 206 runs for six wickets at the end of the 20 overs.
Interestingly, the captain of the Afghanistan team chose to bat first this time and scored 209 runs for five wickets at the end of their 20 overs.
Kusal Janath Perera, Kamidu Mendis, Akila Dhananjaya, and Nuvan Thushara were amongst the Sri Lankan team players called up for the final Twenty20 match.
The fierce attack from Afghanistan
The two opening batsmen gave Afghanistan a successful start, scoring a quick 88 runs in just 44 balls. Although Akila Dhananjaya missed a catch, he was able to console his team.
However, he later broke the partnership of the opening batters by taking the wicket of Hazratullah Sasai, who had scored a quick 45 runs off 22 balls.Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who had scored 70 runs in the last Twenty20 match, became the highest scorer of Afghanistan.
Despite this, the successful foundation laid by the opening batters allowed the Afghan team to score 209 runs for five wickets at the end of the 20 overs. In bowling, Akila Dhananjaya and Mathisha Pathirana took two wickets each, while captain Vanindu Hasaranga took one wicket.
Sri Lanka’s Aggressive Chasing
Kamidu Mendis, a newcomer to the Sri Lankan team, played exceptionally well in the match, scoring an unbeaten 65 runs off 39 balls.
He strongly partnered with Sadheera Samarawickrama, who scored 23 runs off 12 balls before getting out. Despite their efforts, the Sri Lankan team fell short by three runs as they could only score 16 runs in the last over, needing 19 runs to win.
Vanindu Hasaranga, the captain of the Sri Lankan team, was named the player of the tournament, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the opening batsman of the Afghanistan team, was named the man of the final match.
Expectations of the Sri Lankan team before the match
The Sri Lankan team was hoping to win the third and final T20 match against Afghanistan after already winning the first two matches in the series.
They were aiming to win not only the ODI tournament but also the entire Twenty20 series. The last time Sri Lanka won a complete T20 series was in 2019 against Pakistan.
With only three more T20 matches left before the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup, it was crucial for Sri Lanka to perform well and win the match against Afghanistan in style.
Pathum’s injury caused the defeat
Kamindu Mendis took over the Sri Lankan innings after Pathum’s departure because of a hamstring injury and scored an unbeaten 65 runs, including seven fours and two sixes.
Kusal Janith Perera, a promising batsman of the Sri Lankan team, got out without scoring, causing concern to the cricket fans.
While Sadheera Samarawickrama scored 23 runs and Captain Vanidu Hasaranga scored 13 runs each, Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka could not stabilise the field. With that permission, Afghanistan recorded a great victory by three runs.
However, Sri Lanka successfully won the first and second T20 matches, demonstrating their high-level skills. The Sri Lankan team must maintain the quality of cricket in the upcoming series against Bangladesh because it is essential for the forthcoming T20 World Cup.
One-day series that broke records
The Sri Lanka-Afghanistan ODI series was of great importance. The tournament ended on the 14th, with Sri Lanka emerging as the winner.
This victory was a massive relief for Sri Lankan cricket fans disappointed by the team’s previous setbacks. Pathum Nissanka was the most talked-about player in this ODI series because of his excellent batting style.
Apart from Nissanka, the other Sri Lankan batters performed very well, and the team has shown great promise. Another significant outcome of the tournament was the revival of audience support that had been lacking in the past few months. The Sri Lankan team received a positive response from the audience, which was a unique situation.
Pathum’s name is amongst the records
Several new records were set during the recently concluded cricket series. Amongst them, Pathum Nissanka’s records held a significant place.
He became the first and only Sri Lankan player to score an ODI double-century, making him the fifth player in the world to achieve this feat.
His name has taken the lead amongst the records in this tournament. So far, only 12 ODI double-centuries have been recorded in every international competition.
Jayasuriya’s two records fall
Pathum Nissanka made history during the third one-day match held on the 14th by breaking several records.
He scored an unbeaten 210 runs in his innings, for which he spent only 136 balls—this double century made him the fastest Sri Lankan batsman to cross the 2000-run mark in ODI cricket, taking only 52 innings to do so.
Pathum also broke Sanath Jayasuriya’s record of the highest runs scored by a batter for Sri Lanka, scoring 189 runs at the Sharjah Stadium in October 2000.
Pathum also holds the record for the highest runs scored by a Sri Lankan player with fours and sixes, scoring 128 runs with 20 fours and 08 sixes in this innings, surpassing Sanath Jayasuriya and Thisara Perera, who had previously scored 110 runs each.
Sri Lanka scored 381 runs in this inning; the Sri Lankan team scored the highest runs in an ODI inning in Sri Lanka.
This inning also became the 4th highest total scored by Sri Lanka. Pathum Nishanka managed to record a century in this match, which helped him claim the highest runs scored by a Sri Lankan batsman in a one-day series of 03 matches by recording 346 runs in 03 matches.
This achievement also earned him a place in the world record book as the 04th highest score, with the first place going to Indian player Shubman Gill, who scored 360 runs in a 03-match series. Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Zimbabwe’s Imrul Kais are in second and third place, respectively.
Successful decisions of the new selection committee
It is worth noting that this tournament marks the first time a new selection committee made all team selections. During a crisis in Sri Lankan cricket, the country had to endure an international-level ban.
As a result, a new selection committee was appointed, and critics believe they have succeeded in fostering stronger cooperation within the team. This has led to an increase in talent and remarkable achievements.
Under the guidance of the new selection committee, Dhananjayada Silva was appointed as the ODI captain, Wanidu Hasaranga was appointed as the captain for T20 matches, and Kusal Mendis was appointed as the captain for Test matches.
This has contributed to the team’s significant growth. The Sri Lankan cricket authorities expect to present a team with high mental fortitude for the upcoming series with Bangladesh.
