191/10 (42.1)
CR : 4.53
323/6 (50.0)
CR : 6.46
Sri Lanka won by 132 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Dhananjaya de Silva
3/3929(24)
Over 42
Afghanistan 191/9
Fazalhaq Farooqi0(4)
Azmatullah Omarzai28(30)
Wanindu Hasaranga3-42(9.0)
42.1
W
M Theekshana to A Omarzai
WICKET!! In the air and caught!! That's it, a comprehensive victory for Sri Lanka!! They bounced back stronger after their loss in the first ODI and thumped Afghanistan by 132 runs to level the series!! Fuller delivery around the off. Omarzai looks to heave it over the long-off but slices it off the outer half of the bat and the ball flies to the long-off where Shanaka settles underneath the ball and takes a sitter.
A Omarzai 28(31)
c D Shanaka b M Theekshana
4s/6s
4/1
SR
90.32
SL won by 132 runs
5:32 PM IST | There it is! Maheesh Theekshana gets the final wicket and closes the encounter in Hambantota. This was an all-round performance from Sri Lanka and they have leveled the series the three-match series after facing a drubbing in the 1st ODI. The Dasun Shanaka-led side has defeated Afghanistan by 132 runs and it is Sri Lanka's biggest ODI victory against them (in terms of runs).
Chasing a hefty total of 324, Afghanistan were off to a disastrous start as Dushmantha Chameera gave them an early setback by removing the gloveman Rahmanullah Gurbaz 2(12) in the 4th over with a peach of a delivery. Rahmat Shah, the next batter in, joined forces with Ibrahim Zadran but the Sri Lankan bowlers were able to restrict the boundaries as both Zadran and Rahmat batted sedately inside the powerplay.
The lackluster start from the visitors only helped them to aggregate 33 runs off the first ten overs. Rahmat and Zadran stitched a scratchy 51-run partnership for the second wicket before skipper Dasun Shanaka trapped Rahmat 36(42) in front and attained the second breakthrough for the hosts. Another partnership was developed for Afghanistan in the middle overs but they were unable to accelerate the innings as the required run rate kept climbing.
The Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Ibrahim Zadran both got to their respective half-centuries and added 84 runs for the third wicket. Just when Afghanistan was starting to change gears, Dhananjaya de Silva was brought back into the attack and the off-spinner changed the entire complexion of the game. Dhananjaya removed the two set batters Ibrahim Zadran 54(75) and Shahidi 57(62) and gathered momentum for Sri Lanka.
The leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga capitalized on that and ran through the Afghanistan lower order in a flash. Azmatullah Omarzai played a fighting knock of 28(31) but the target was always a little too much to be chased by him alone. Both Wanindu (3/42) and Dhananjaya (3/39) bagged three wickets while Chameera also clinched a couple of wickets on his comeback.
The right-handed duo of Mendis and Samarawickrama added 88 runs for the third wicket, and just when they were starting to step on the gas, Mujeeb Ur Rahman had the woods over Samarawickrama 44(46) with an exceptional wrong ‘un. Kusal Mendis brought up his 21st ODI half-century and kept the scorecard ticking before Fareed Ahmad got rid of him at 78(75). The platform was set for the lower order to go all guns blazing and some late pyrotechnics by Dasun Shanaka 23(13) and Wanindu Hasaranga 29*(12) powered Sri Lanka to an above-par score. Stick around for the post-match presentation!
It's time for the post-match presentation!
Dhananjaya de Silva (Player of the match): "Yes definitely, in the last two weeks I was batting up in the order but I am enjoying the new role (Finisher role). The wicket got a bit slower as the game progressed like the last game. My role was to support Wanindu and Mahesh from the one end and bow as many as dot I can."
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain): "Yeah, I think we were poor with our fielding and we did not bowl well in the next 10 overs. Sometimes things like this happen and not everything goes according to plan. I don't really care about stats. I believe our batting is improving day by day. Sri Lanka made around 30 runs extra and put us under pressure. Rashid Khan is back for the final game and we will try and come back stronger in the next game."
Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka Captain): "To be honest our aim was to play positive cricket and the wicket was also a bit different from the last game, the ball was coming on the bat nicely and we knew one partnership and we could score a big total. We didn't have much experience of playing on such pitches but yeah, credit to the ground staff for preparing such a good pitch. Our top-order batters fired today. We got a good start and Me and Hasaranga finished well.
Chameera is bowling brilliantly with the white ball, and he is quite impressive with the white ball. It is up to the selectors and team management, we have to make the right decisions keeping the World Cup Qualifiers in mind (On changes in the last ODI)."
Chameera is bowling brilliantly with the white ball, and he is quite impressive with the white ball. It is up to the selectors and team management, we have to make the right decisions keeping the World Cup Qualifiers in mind (On changes in the last ODI)."
So, Sri Lanka has leveled the series and both these sides will meet again on Wednesday for the series decider. Do join us there and stay tuned for more cricketing action around the world. For now, this is Megh Mandaliya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Deepak Prakash alongside our scorer/analyst Dushyant Madhukar Kumar. Cheers!