Updated 5 February 2024 at 22:53 IST
Angelo Matthews' sublime innings against Afghanistan, in the one-off Test between the Asian nations, came to an anti-climatic end. The SL all-rounder constructed a well-compiled 141 for his side, but chasing a wide-ball proved to be too costly. His dismissal however, did not affect the result of the game, as Sri Lanka won the contest by 10 wickets at
Sinhalese Sports Club.
Qais Ahmad got the lucky scalp on a delivery that was asking for punishment. During the 102nd over on Day 2, Ahmad bowled a delivery that went wide outside leg stump, Matthews made the adjustment to pull it as hard as he could. He got the right connection too, but swung it so hard that he could not control the momentum of the bat. Alas! it hit the stumps, and Matthews got out Hit-Wicket. It was an unfortunate end to a top-notch innings.
Matthews' wicket brought the end of the day's action. Day 2 concluded with Sri Lanka on 410/6. The next day, SL batters could not hold on for long and the innings culminated at the mark of 439. Tackling the lead of 241 runs, Afghanistan openers- Ibrahim Zadran and Noor Ali- started on a brilliant note, forming a 100-run partnership. Following that, Rahmat Shah and Ibrahim Zadran also constructed a more than 100-run stand for the second wicket. Props to Zadran for scoring a well-compiled century. The formidable lead was vanished by the top three batters of Afghanistan. But as they started to smell the opportunity, disaster struck Afghanistan in the form of a major collapse and in the end, they could only set up a target of 56 in front of the hosts. The SL openers got to the target without any hassle and consequently, Sri Lanka won the one-off Test against Afghanistan by 10 wickets. Prabath Jayasuriya was adjudged the man of the match for picking up 8 wickets in the match.
Published 5 February 2024 at 22:53 IST