Fireworks from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (70 off 43) and Hazratullah Zazai (45 off 22) led Afghanistan to a big total that eventually proved just enough for a three-win against Sri Lanka in the final T20I in Dambulla on Wednesday (February 21). Pathum Nissanka (60 off 30) and Kamindu Mendis (65* off 39) fought hard for the hosts but they fell agonizingly short of the target in a pulsating finish.
In between were a host of fierce knocks, foremost from Rahmanullah Gurbaz who struck a 43-ball 70 to set the platform for the visitors’ mammoth score. Opening alongside him was Hazratullah Zazai who bludgeoned an even more brutal 45 off 22.
Afghanistan withstood onslaughts at both ends of the innings, first from Pathum Nissanka and then Kamindu Mendis, to close out a nervy three-run victory over Sri Lanka in the third T20I in Dambulla. It means Afghanistan end the series on a high, securing their solitary victory at the last time of asking; Sri Lanka win the series 2-1.
The difference in the end proved to be the final two deliveries of the respective innings. Afghanistan, having elected to bat first, struck 10 runs off their final two balls courtesy debutant Mohammed Ishaq to push their total to 209 for 5. Sri Lanka in their response ended up needing 10 off 2, but Kamindu could only manage six – that too coming off the final delivery of the game.
Sri Lanka in response had Nissanka lead the way with a 30-ball 60 before a hamstring strain forced him to retire hurt, but Kamindu’s 65 off 39 ensured the game would go down to the wire.
Suffice to say it wasn’t a day for the bowlers with none able to maintain an economy rate of below eight, with the seamers on both sides receiving the brunt of the abuse each taken for more than 10 an over.
Pitch and Toss
It was a very warm day. It looked very patchy and not something we have seen here. There is dryness under the surface because the groundsman has not had a lot of time to prepare. There will be some turn for the spinners which we haven’t seen a lot in this series. The team winning the toss will certainly bat first in the match.
Sri Lanka under Wanindu Hasaranga made as many as four changes similar to Afghanistan under Ibrahim Zadran who won the toss and elected to bat first and were without the services of Gulbadin Naib, Naveen Ul Haq , Fazal Haq Farooqi and Najibullah Zadran. Sri Lanka rested Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Dilshan Madhushanka
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hazratullah Zazai set the stage
Partnerships keep momentum going
Once the opening partnership was ended, Sri Lanka might have hoped to reel things back but Afghanistan scarcely took their foot off the gas. While they were unable to maintain the scoring rate of roughly 12 an over that Gurbaz and Zazai had been galloping along at, at no point across their innings did the rate drop below 10.
Successive partnerships of 25, 28, 41 – all comfortably above run-a-ball – ensured Sri Lanka’s bowlers were never allowed to build any pressure, and then Ishaq’s final-over strikes placed the finishing touches on a dominant outing with the bat.
With Gurbaz and Zazai going great guns, Sri Lanka needed a breakthrough to stem the momentum. Akila Dananjaya did just that by getting the left-hander LBW. It started a passage of play where the scoring rate dipped a bit. Sri Lankan captain Wanindu Hasaranga produced the big breakthrough of Gurbaz while Dananjaya took out Zadran to inflict a slowdown to the innings.
Omarzai, Ishaq give the ideal finish
Afghanistan looked set for a score in excess of 200 when their openers were firing but the middle overs slowdown threatened to end their score on a much lower level. However, Azmatullah Omarzai (31 off 23) produced a few big hits and young Mohammad Ishaq struck a few blows in the final over to take the score well past the 200-run mark. Sri Lanka were guilty of bowling a few freebies at the death, notably Matheesha Pathirana who sprayed the ball to gift too many wides.
Pathum Nissanka’s one-man show
In-form Nissanka got going, like he had all through the ODIs and T20Is, to give Sri Lanka the perfect tempo to the chase. Kusal Mendis was scratchy in his stay and played second fiddle to Nissanka who went hammer and tongs in the powerplay which yielded 64 for the hosts. Mendis fell at the fag end of that phase while Kusal Perera perished for a duck shortly thereafter.
Nissanka, though, kept playing his shots and looked in ominous touch. Afghanistan suffered a blow with Sharafuddin Ashraf injuring himself while taking the catch of Mendis. Qais Ahmad came in as the concussion sub.
Over the past couple of years Sri Lanka’s bigger totals had frequently coincided with a Kusal Mendis onslaught, but 2024 has been the Nissanka show as far as Sri Lanka are concerned.
While his double-ton in the ODIs seemed to catch many by surprise, Nissanka now seems hellbent on completely transforming his white-ball game into one of a pocket-sized power hitter.
He signaled his intent in the very first over of the chase, clipping one fine first ball before swatting a short one past mid-on a couple of balls later. He saved his destructive best though for Fareed Ahmad in the final over of the powerplay, as he took him for six, four, four, first scooped over fine leg, then slapped high down the ground and finally flayed over point.
By the time he left the field he had accounted for 60 (off 30 deliveries) of Sri Lanka’s 83 on the board. They will hope the hamstring injury that forced him to retire hurt is nothing serious; his parting shot before leaving the field – a slog sweep over deep midwicket – was a bittersweet reminder of precisely what they’d be missing out on.
Nissanka walks off
Moments after playing a slog-sweep for six, Nissanka clutched his hamstring in pain and was forced to retire hurt. With the series already sealed and a World Cup in few months time, it was the wise call. But in the context of this game, it was a huge blow for Sri Lanka and it gave Afghanistan the opportunity to put on a squeeze. They not only managed to do so but also picked up wickets including the big one of Hasaranga.
Kamindu puts up a brave fight
Afghanistan thought they could run away with the game but Kamindu and Samarawickrama got stuck into the bowling, using the batting-friendly pitch to their advantage. The required rate continued to be steep and although Samarawickrama fell to the pressure of the chase, Kamindu didn’t back off. He saw senior players in Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka (who did hit a couple of handy blows) perish but kept going, almost singlehandedly keeping Sri Lanka in the game.
Afghanistan hold their nerve to cap of the win
Despite Nissanka’s blazing start, the required rate still hovered over 10 an over constantly, but Sri Lanka did well to keep the required rate within touching distance even while losing the likes of Kusal Perera and Wanindu Hasaranga cheaply.
This was largely down to a momentum-shifting stand between Samarawickrama and Kamindu, the pair putting on 53 off 33. When Samarawickrama fell edging a cut to the keeper, and Mathews shortly after holing out in the deep, Afghanistan might have felt they were home clear, however another quick fire stand shifted the balance once more.
Dasun Shanaka and Kamindu put on 35 off 17, but with Shanaka run out and Mendis needing 19 off the final over, he and Sri Lanka fell agonizingly short.
A thrilling, controversial finish to an exciting match.
It came down to the final over with Sri Lanka needing 19 for a win against Wafadar Momand. Kamindu found the fence off the first and third ball with a dot in between, to get the equation to 11 needed off 3. This is when Wafadar bowled a beamer of sorts, clearly a waist-high no ball except that the two on-field umps didn’t think so. Kamindu had stepped out slightly but it still seemed a clear no-ball. Eventually, that proved massive to the eventual result, with Kamindu hitting the final ball for six – a shot that didn’t matter as Sri Lanka fell just short by mere 3 runs
Presentation and Road Ahead
Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan captain said : I am happy with the win. Unfortunately, we lost the series. Feeling great after the game today. (On the score) It was a good total we put up on the board.
Hazrat and Gurbaz gave us good momentum and we wanted to carry it through. (On the changes they made) We wanted to give chances to the players who did not play. We are going to the T20 World Cup and we wanted to try out players. If you look at the first game, we played well but could not win, and we won today. We have lots of positives to take (from this series) and take it into the T20 World Cup.
Wanindu Hasaranga, Sri Lanka captain and Player of the Series said : We played really well first two games. Credit goes to our bowlers. We want to see how everyone performs, that’s why we made 4 changes. Our bowlers did a good job and Chameera will also be coming back now after injury.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz Man of Match for his innings of 70 runs said : (How pleasing was his innings today) To be honest, it was (quite pleasing). It was a really hard time for me, I had not scored (before in the series). I was under pressure but I tried to go in today and play my natural game.
I took responsibility and I think that was the reason. (On what he prefers – chasing or batting first) I don’t mind. Whenever I have a good day, I can chase and set a total. I hope we learn from the mistakes we did here and I hope we don’t repeat it moving forward.
A thriller in Dambulla to close out this series, and Afghanistan got a bit of the rub from the green to get them over the line. Sri Lanka would feel hard done by that full toss in the last over that should have been called no ball, but in all fairness their tepid batting in the middle overs is probably what cost them. Chasing a lofty total, the hosts got a solid start as Nissanka attacked Wafadar Momand in the powerplay. Kusal Mendis fell after a six and a four, as Nissanka went on to score a fifty.
He felt like hamstring shortly after and had to walk out the pitch, as Afghanistan fought back with their spinners in the middle overs. Nabi picked the wickets of Hasaranga and Mathews, while concussion sub Qais Ahmed delivered two crucial overs. Sri Lanka always kept themselves in the contest with Samarawickrama and then Kamindu Mendis scoring the runs. Mendis got a fifty and stayed unbeaten till the end, but the target proved to be too stiff.
he visitors batted brilliantly today and got enough runs to keep Sri Lanka just about out of reach. They have avoided a whitewash in the process. Both teams will take plenty of positives from this series, specially with that World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States not too far away now. The players will now take part in the IPL with their respective franchises.