Afghans in SL: Asalanka, Wellalage star in thriller as SL square series

Sport

A record knock of 162 from Ibrahim Zadran and Rashid Khan's four-wicket haul both went in vain as Charith Asalanka and Dunith Wellalage came up with a match-winning partnership of 65 runs in only 39 deliveries to help Sri Lanka level the series 1-1.

Chasing 314 for victory on Wednesday, Sri Lanka were reduced to 249 for 6 in the 44th over. But Asalanka's 83 not out off 72 and Wellalage's 31 not out off 21 stunned the visitors as Sri Lanka won with two deliveries to spare.

The equation was 40 off the last four overs and Rashid bowled a three-run over to finish his spell as the required rate went past 12 for Sri Lanka. Asalanka, who was cramping up, found it difficult to get the short-of-length deliveries away from Fazalhaq Farooqi, who gave away eight, including a boundary for Wellalage. The 19-year-old, who took over the hitting with Asalanka struggling with his fitness, struck three fours off Gulbadin Naib, whose slower ball strategy had become rather predictable. Fazalhaq Farooqi ended up being hit for a six by Wellalage off the first ball before Asalanka finished it off on the fourth ball of the final over with a maximum.

The Sri Lankan openers started the chase on a watchful note despite a few boundaries being scored. Pathum Nissanka was the quieter of the two while Kusal Mendis upped the ante in the 10th over when he struck three fours off Mujeeb Ur Rahman and followed it up with a six off Gulbadin Naib in the next. Nissanka, meanwhile, used a review to overturn an lbw decision in the 13th over bowled by Gulbadin. The century partnership was raised five overs later, with Mendis having contributed nearly 70 per cent of the runs. But Afghanistan managed a crucial strike as Mendis, looking for a big shot off Mohammad Nabi, found deep midwicket to depart for 67.

Rashid Khan delivered a couple of quick strikes and Afghanistan sneaked in a few quiet overs to make things difficult for Sri Lanka. Both Nissanka and Dhananjaya de Silva were bowled by Rashid's fastish googlies. Rashid could have had another but the umpire ruled that the catch Nabi took off Dinesh Chandimal's edge had made contact with ground first, although the soft signal was out and the replays were not conclusive enough to prove otherwise. A promising partnership between Chandimal and Charith Asalanka came to an end at 48 when the former was bowled by Nabi for 33.

Asalanka then partnered with skipper Dasun Shanaka as they raised a 45-ball half-century stand to help Sri Lanka stage a recovery. Finding the fence at regular intervals and rotating the strike, the two batters looked set to take it deep as they brought down the equation to 82 off the last 10 overs. Afghanistan re-introduced their chief weapon Rashid and he delivered immediately as he had Shanaka bowled for 43 and also bagged the wicket of Wanindu Hasaranga in his next over. Asalanka, meanwhile, got to his fifty and struck two sixes off Mujeeb to keep Sri Lanka afloat and then Wellalage came along to provide the finish that the home team hoped for.

Earlier, after opting to bat, Afghanistan rode on Ibrahim Zadran's fine knock to post a formidable total. The 20-year-old registered his third hundred in eight innings, and his second in the series against Sri Lanka. He surpassed Mohammad Shahzad's 131* against Zimbabwe to register the highest individual score for Afghanistan in ODIs and was also involved in a record fourth wicket stand with Najibullah Zadran (77). To add to the records, Ibrahim became the first Afghanistan player to reach the landmark of 150, the first to score 150 in Pallekele, and he also surpassed Gautam Gambhir (150) to register the highest score as an opener against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in ODIs.

The visitors had suffered an early setback as Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed by Kasun Rajitha, chopping one onto the stumps. A promising 41-run stand involving Rahmat Shah and Ibrahim was cut short by Rajitha with the dismissal of the former while Hashmatullah Shahidi did not have a productive stay either, leaving Afghanistan precariously placed at 57/3 in the 15th over.Ibrahim then joined forces with Najibullah to steady the Afghanistan innings. It was a well-paced partnership with the two batters rotating the strike well while Ibrahim also found the fence regularly. Wanindu Hasaranga came under attack from Ibrahim, who cleared the fence a couple of times en route to a century stand which was raised off 106 deliveries.

Having struck a four and a six off Hasaranga in the 38th over, Najibullah found Dasun Shanaka take a diving catch at mid-wicket which ended a partnership worth 154, a record for the fourth wicket for Afghanistan. Ibrahim then brought up his hundred with a boundary off Asitha Fernando in the 39th over and followed it up with two more fours in the over. Nabi also struck a couple of fours before falling to Hasaranga in the 42nd over. Sri Lanka managed to dry up the boundaries for a few overs and Naib was also run out during this phase. Ibrahim and Rashid broke the shackles with a couple of boundaries off Rajitha and the former also struck a six off Maheesh Theekshana in the 48th. Ibrahim brought up a 132-ball 150, managed a six off Fernando in the last over before falling on the final ball.