HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka: In the second one-day international against Afghanistan on Sunday, Sri Lanka put on a better batting performance, reaching 323 for six in 50 overs at Hambantota.
After winning the toss, vice-captain Kusal Mendis led Sri Lanka’s innings with a score of 78 off 75 balls, including seven fours and a six. Mendis reached his first 50 in seven innings in 2023.
Before Mendis arrived, openers Dimuth Karunaratne (52) and Pathum Nissanka (43) shared 82 runs for the first wicket. Mendis needed some time to settle in before unleashing some graceful shots.
For Karunaratne, who is vying for a position in the lineup for the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe this month, it was a critical half-century.
Afghanistan is preparing its lineups for this year’s championship game in India and has already qualified for it.
For the third wicket, Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama contributed 88 runs. Samarawickrama is taking the field for Sri Lanka for the first time in more than three years, and their pairing allowed the team to cling on after a promising start.
While Mendis continued to score at the top of the order before being magnificently caught by wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz off the bowling of Fareed Ahmad, Samarawickrama was removed for 44.
With 109 runs scored in the final 10 overs, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Wanindu Hasaranga provided some huge hitting to assist Sri Lanka reach 300, a score that might have won the match. AFP