- Afghanistan’s Tour Of Sri Lanka 2024 (3rd ODI)
Sri Lanka skillfully thumped Afghanistan by 7 wickets in the third and final one day international at the Pallekele Stadium. Pathum Nissanka rose to the occasion for the second time, scoring a wonderful century to chase down a target of 267 with 88 balls to spare. Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis also contributed while the Lankan bowler did well to restrict the visitors to the lowest total in the series yet.
Afghanistan started well after winning the toss, taking on the opening bowlers with skill and patience. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rahmat Shah’s efforts, along with Azmatullah Omarzai’s fifty, helped Afghanistan get up and running, but witnessed a familiar batting collapse once their opening order faltered. Afghanistan ended up with their lowest total of the tournament so far, ending with 266 on the board. Wellalage, Fernando and Akila Dananjaya all contributed with two wickets each, however it was Pramod Madushan who yet did the most damage by picking up a three-fer.
Sri Lanka were dominant in the chase, with their openers starting off with an unstoppable 173 run partnership. Avishka Fernando clobbered 91 runs alongside Nissanka before losing his wicket, but skipper Kusal Mendis stepped in with another contribution of 40.
This helped Nissanka steady the ship and play freely throughout the innings. Nissanka ended his stint at the crease with 118 runs in just 101 rocks, scoring his second century in his past 3 games.
Sri Lanka chased down the target of 267 for 3 in 35.2 overs, with Nissanka leading the charge and Avishka Fernando playing a blistering innings. The victory sealed a commanding 3-0 series sweep for Sri Lanka, highlighting their dominance throughout.
Chief Scores :
Afghanistan – 266 for 10 in 48.2 overs (Rahmat Shah 65, Azmatullah Omarzai 54, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 48, Pramod Madushan 3 for 45, Dunith Wellalage 2 for 38, Asitha Fernando 2 for 44)
Sri Lanka – 267 for 3 in 35.2 overs (Pathum Nissanka 118, Avishka Fernando 91, Kusal Mendis 40, Qais Ahmed 2 for 46, Mohammad Nabi 1 for 46, Azmatullah Omarzai 0 for 29)
