Opener Ibrahim Zadran hit 106 to secure an emphatic 60-run victory for Afghanistan in the opening international against Sri Lanka on Friday. Afghanistan posted 294-8 after opting to bat as Ibrahim made key partnerships, including a 118-run second wicket stand with Rahmat Shah, who made 52, at Pallekele. Afghanistan’s fast bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulbadin Naib shared seven wickets between them as the tourists bowled out Sri Lanka for 234.
Pathum Nissanka’s 85 and a menacing 66 from Wanindu Hasaranga went in vain as Afghanistan finished the Sri Lankan innings in 38 overs.
But it was the at-bat that set the tone for Afghanistan’s domination in the first-ever bilateral ODI series between the two teams.
Ibrahim led the attack with his second ODI century and Najibullah Zadran’s 25-ball 42 lifted the total, but some disciplined bowling eventually checked Afghanistan, who looked like over 300.
Hasaranga returned impressive figures of 2-42 in his 10 overs.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz justified captain Hashmatullah Shahidi’s decision to bat first as he hit a flurry of boundaries in his 53.
Ibrahim joined the attack as the two scored 84 points to set the tone for the batting attack.
Cameos from Najibullah and Naib, who made 22 from 24 balls, eventually took on the bowlers, but Sri Lanka gave away just 31 runs in the last five overs and took five wickets.
The hosts started fast, but regular wickets hurt their progress, with Naib picking two to rattle the top order.
Nissanka reached his 50th in 42 balls and put up 47 runs with skipper Dasun Shanaka, who fell to Naib.
Farooqi denied Nissanka his ton, but Hasaranga soon hit back to raise hopes of a turnaround.
He defeated Mohammad Nabi with a six and four fours in a 31st overflow of 22 runs and raised his fifty in 31 balls.
Wickets continued to fall and Hasaranga was the last man out for Farooqi, who finished with figures of 4-49.
The loss diminished Sri Lanka’s chances of direct qualification for the 50-over World Cup in India next year, with crucial Super League points up for grabs in the series.
The second game is on Sunday at the same location.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Featured video of the day
India to Qatar: Sportswear from Tamil Nadu finds its way into FIFA World Cup
Topics mentioned in this article
