Mathews, Chandimal tons give Sri Lanka advantage against Afghanistan
Feb 03, 2024
Colombo [Sri Lanka], February 3 : Tons from Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal helped Sri Lanka extend their lead to 212 runs after the end of play on Day 2 of the one-off Test against Afghanistan at Sinhalese Sports Club on Saturday.
At Day 2 stumps, Sri Lanka were 410/6 with Sadira Samawicrama batting on 21 with the help of three fours and a six.
The hosts resumed Day Two from 80/0 with openers Dimuth Karunaratne unbeaten on 42 runs off 37 balls with the help of seven fours and Nishan Madushka unbeaten on 36 runs 48 balls with six boundaries in his innings so far.
Both the batters were able to score just 13 runs when Madhushka was out and the team's score reading 93 runs.
Sri Lanka lost their second wicket when Kushal Mendis was dismissed after scoring just 10 runs. The team lost the third wicket at the score of 143 runs when Karunaratne was sent back to the dressing room after scoring 77 runs.
Experienced cricketers Mathews and Chandimal built a marvellous partnership of 232 runs before the latter fell to spinner Qais Ahmad after playing a magnificent knock of 141 runs with the help of 14 fours and three sixes.
Mathews also played a brilliant innings before going back to the pavilion. He scored 107 runs with the help of 10 fours and a six.
For Afghanistan, Naveed and Qais were the pick of bowlers who snapped two wickets each in their spells of 18.5 overs and 21.2 overs. One wicket was taken by Nijat Masood in his spell of 16 overs in which he conceded 59 runs.
Earlier on Day 1, the Afghanistan were bundled out for 198 runs in 62.4 overs. The highest scorer for the team was Rahmat Shah who played a knock of 91 runs from 139 balls with the help of 13 fours.
Other than Rahmat, Noor Ali Zadran scored 31 runs off 46 balls which included five boundaries.
For Sri Lanka, Vishwa Fernando snapped four wickets in his spell of 12 overs and conceded 51 runs. Asitha Fernando grabbed three wickets in his spell of 14.4 overs.
Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya also bagged three wickets in his 25 overs conceding 67 runs.
Brief Score: Sri Lanka 410/6 (Angelo Mathews 141, Dinesh Chandimal 107, Naveed Zadran 2/80) vs Afghanistan 198 (Rahmat Shah 91, Noor Ali Zadran; 31 Vishwa Fernando 4/51).
