Sri Lanka scored 439 runs in their first innings, with Mathews making 141 runs and Chandimal scoring 107. They also scored 56 runs without losing any wickets in their second innings. They defeated Afghanistan, who scored 198 runs in their first innings and 296 runs in their second innings, by ten wickets.
Sri Lanka used a new cricket ball to bowl out Afghanistan, leading to their ten-wicket victory on the fourth day of the match. Afghanistan started the day with only one wicket down and close to Sri Lanka’s score. However, they lost nine wickets for 82 runs. Prabath Jayasuriya, a left-arm spinner, was the main wicket-taker, grabbing five wickets. Asitha Fernando took three wickets, while Kasun Rajitha got two.
Despite some late hitting by Afghanistan’s lower-order batsmen, they couldn’t build significant partnerships. They set a target of 56 runs for Sri Lanka, who comfortably chased it down in just eight overs. Dimuth Karunaratne scored 32 runs off 22 balls, while Nishan Madushka contributed 22 runs.
During the match, Sri Lanka took the second new ball after five overs on the fourth day. This decision paid off as they quickly dismissed Afghanistan’s batsmen. Rajitha, substituting for Chamika Gunasekara, broke a crucial partnership by taking a wicket in his first over with the new ball.
Jayasuriya then took over, exploiting the harder ball to take wickets. Afghanistan lost wickets at regular intervals, with Jayasuriya claiming five and Asitha and Rajitha sharing the rest.
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Despite a brief resistance from Nasir Jamal after lunch, Afghanistan couldn’t avoid defeat. Jayasuriya took the final wicket, completing his five-wicket haul. Madushka and Karunaratne then comfortably chased down the target without any trouble.
