Sri Lanka defeat Afghanistan by 10 wickets in one-off Test

COLOMBO (Agencies): Sri Lanka bagged victory in the one-off Test match against Afghanistan by 10 wickets on Monday. Sri Lanka’s opening batters chased down an easy target of 56 in Colombo with a day to spare. Afghanistan were dismissed for 296 in their second innings, setting Sri Lanka a modest target, with Dimuth Karunaratne (32 not out) and Nishan Madushka (22 not out) getting over the line within 7.2 overs. Afghanistan were always behind in the game after conceding 241 runs in the first innings, but Ibrahim Zadran helped his side fight back in the second innings with a maiden Test hundred. Rahmat Shah provided support to the opening batter with a half-century but once the pair were dismissed, Afghanistan innings ended quickly.

They joined hands to add 108 runs for the second wicket, and Afghanistan were looking good to stretch the game to the final day when they resumed the innings on day four at 199 for one. However, six wickets went down in the morning session for just 52 runs as the second new ball hurt the Afghans. Jayasuriya clinched five for 107, while seamers Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha shared five wickets between them. Jayasuriya, the player of the match, ended the game with eight wickets, having bagged three wickets in the first innings. Despite the loss, Afghanistan´s fast bowlers were impressive, with Naveed Zadran picking up four wickets in Sri Lanka´s first innings on his debut. Hundreds by former captains Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal helped Sri Lanka to their 1st innings total of 439. The pair were involved in a record 232-run stand for the fourth wicket, the highest partnership at Colombo´s Sinhalese Sports Club for that wicket. The Test match is not part of the World Test Championship. The teams will now move to Kandy for a three-match ODI series, followed by three T20 Internationals in Dambulla.

SCOREBOARD

AFGHANISTAN 1ST INNINGS 198

SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS 439

AFGHANISTAN 2ND INNINGS 296

SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS (target 56 runs)

Dimuth Karunaratne not out     32

Nishan Madushka not out         22

Did not bat: Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha

EXTRAS (LB 1, NB 1)  2

TOTAL (7.2 overs)        56-0

BOWLING

Zia-ur-Rehman     3-0-12-0

Naveed Zadran     3-0-30-0

Nijat Masood        1-0-5-0

Qais Ahmad 0.2-0-8-0

Umpires: Chris Brown, Michael Gough

TV umpire: Alex Wharf

Match referee: Chris Broad