The series may have started with an ominous-feeling six-wicket defeat, but Sri Lanka bounced back to complete a 2-1 series win beating Afghanistan by nine wickets in Hambantota.
Sri Lanka's top three batsmen made the chase look as easy as the target suggested it should be, needing just 16 overs to score the 117 runs required for victory and handing Afghanistan their biggest ODI defeat in terms of balls remaining.
Pathum Nissanka gave the hosts a quick start with 51 off 34 deliveries, striking two sixes to go with eight boundaries, as Sri Lanka reached 84 for no loss in 10 overs.
Nissanka fell off the first delivery of the 11th over, trapped leg before wicket to Gulbadin Naib, but there were no further hiccoughs in the chase.
Dimuth Karunaratne who scored his eighth ODI half-century finished on 52 not out, with Kusal Mendis unbeaten on 11.
The ease for the Sri Lankan batsman was thanks to the efforts of their bowlers, who skittled the Afghanistanis out for 116, as fast bowlers Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara made early inroads, before spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana cleaned up the tail.
It was Afghanistan's second lowest score batting first in an ODI.
Chameera finished with 4 for 63 in nine overs, his figures blotted by some slogging towards the end of the innings, in an otherwise impressive bowling effort.
Kumara accounted for two wickets for 29 runs in five overs, and Hasaranga taking 3 for 7 in 4.2 overs.
Kumara made the first breakthrough in the second over, when Rahmanullah Gurbaz attempted a hook, but a top edge found Dimuth Karunaratne at fine leg instead.
Three overs later, Rahmat Shah loosely swiped at a delivery wide of off-stump, edging a catch to wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis, the first of Chameera's wickets.
The same combination accounted for the wicket of Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi three balls later, Shahidi feathering a catch down the leg side.
Match-winner in the first ODI Ibrahim Zadran was bowled for ten by Kumara, before Najibullah Zadran offered a catch off a leading edge to Wanindu Hasaranga at backward point, giving Chameera his third wicket -- Afghanistan losing half their side with 72 runs on the board at that stage.
The situation didn't get any better for the visiting team, with Chameera trapping Mohammad Nabi leg before wicket in his next over, the batsman confirmed to be out by the smallest of margins, with the review indicating the ball just about clipping the leg stump.
All-rounder Rashid Khan failed live up to his penchant as a big-hitter, trapped leg before wicket by Wanindu Hasaranga in the 16th over.
The rest of Afghanistan's batting folded in the space of the next seven overs, adding just 36 runs, with Hasaranga taking two more wickets, and Maheesh Theekshana having Gulbadin Naib caught for 20.
New Cricket Manager Asanka Gurusinha will be contracted till the 2019 World Cup and will form a key part of the management team comprising Team Manager.
Former Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore said that care should be shown when criticizing the current crop of young national team cricketers, since the team was going through a rebuilding phase. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Whatmore said that criticism should be more objective and that more opportunities and support should be provided to young cricketers. “Clearly they are in a rebuilding phase, and it’s not easy to cover two great players that have left the game. (They’ve been) Without the services of a Lasith Malinga, who has been injured also for a lengthy period of time. It’s not easy. It’s a rebuilding phase but I can see obvious talent there, so we just need to be a little careful about the criticisms that come their way and we need to be more objective, keep providing more opportunities and support,” Whatmore said.
Niroshan Dickwella is an international young Sri Lankan cricketer. Niroshan Dickwella Two Match Ban because of his behavior in last t20 match. He plays all formats of the game for Sri Lanka. A handy left arm batsman, Niroshan Dickwella is also like to plays as a wicketkeeper of the team. As a Younger Niroshan is known for hitting left hand dilscoops in many occasions at any length of his comeback as a opener. Niroshan Dickwella is a former student of Trinity College, Kandy. - See more at: http://www.gossipvideos.com/2017/02/niroshan-dickwella-two-match-ban.html#sthash.kW3mDeHw.dpuf
Asela Gunaratne plays all forms of the game. He is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer, who He is currently serving in the Sri Lanka Army. Allrounder Asela Gunaratne win the T20 match with amazing wicket over Australia in Geelong. Winner of the match off the last ball hit the border Sunday night, leading to curb 84 not out from 46 balls as Sri Lanka snatched the victory of the home team's grip.
Lasith Malinga back in Sri Lanka squad after year out with injury - Veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga is back in the Sri Lanka squad for the first time in a year. Malinga, who has recovered from a long-running knee problem, is in the squad for a series of Twenty20 internationals in Australia this month. The 33-year-old, who retired from Test cricket in 2010, has not played international cricket since last February when Sri Lanka suffered an early exit from the Asia Cup
The selection panel of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has picked a 15 – member squad for a T20 to be played in South Africa. The squad for this T20 delegation has representatives from all regions. Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Seekuge Prasanna, Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunarathna, Sachith Pathirana, Lakshan Sadakan, and Nuwan Kulasekara are scheduled to fly out to South Africa tomorrow. New on the T-20 the 23-year old Thikshila De Silva, is a hard hitting batsman who is also a right arm paceman. Apart from these players skipper Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Suranga Lakmal, Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva will remain in South Africa to make up the T- 20 squad.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has captained 199 ODIs & 72 T-20 international matches steps down as the captain of India’s ODI and T-20 cricket teams. Here's what experts have to say about it.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has been named as Cricketer of the Year 2015 while T M Dilshan was voted Dialog People’s Player of the year 2016 at the Dialog Cricket Awards on Wednesday (30). - See more at: http://www.adaderana.lk/sports/7093/angelo-mathews-wins-cricketer-of-the-year-award#sthash.FkG1nx1Y.dpuf
