Nissanka’s unbeaten 210 outplays Omarzai, Nabi tons as Sri Lanka clinch opener

Pathum Nissanka’s historic double ton ensured Sri Lanka withstood a spirited Afghanistan counterattack to record a 42-run victory in the first ODI at Pallekele and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

That Afghanistan even got that close was down to a record 242-run stand between Azmatullah Omarazi and Mohammad Nabi the second-highest sixth-wicket stand in ODI history. Omarazai ended on a 115-ball 149, while Nabi scored 136 off 130, as Afghanistan fell short but with their heads held high.

It would leave them wondering perhaps what might have been had there been more substantial contributions from their top order, but in a chase of the mammoth 382-run target set by Sri Lanka, many fell wanting in searching for a fast start.

Pramod Madushan did the most damage sending three of Afghanistan’s top four packing inside the first powerplay. The right-handed Rahmanullah Gurbaz and the left-handed Hashmatullah Shahidi were both done in by in-duckers, Madushan adept at moving the ball both ways – either through the air or off the surface.

In between the two he had Ibrahim Zadran caught at slip, and returned later in the game to break the stand between Nabi and Omarzai. He finished with figures of 4 for 75.

With Dushmantha Chameera accounting for the scalps of Rahmat Shah and Gulbadin Naib at the other end, Afghanistan found themselves staring down the barrel of an ignominious defeat, having stumbled to 55 for 5 midway through the ninth over.

But that was when the fightback began, as the pair of Omarzai and Nabi resolved early on to take the game as deep as possible.

Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 381 for 3 in 50 overs  (Pathum Nissanka 210*, Avishka Fernando 88, Sadeera Samarawickrama 44;  Fareed Ahmad 2-79) beat Afghanistan 339 for 6 in 50 overs (Azmatullah Omarzai 149, Mohammad Nabi 136; Pramodh  Madushan 4-75, Dushmantha Chameera 2-55) by 42 runs

(Cricinfo)