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Jayasuriya fifer spins Sri Lanka to victory

Hosts celebrate 10-wkt Test win against Afghanistan


Tuesday, 6 February 2024


COLOMBO, Feb 05 (AFP): Sri Lanka won their one-off Test match against Afghanistan by 10 wickets with a day to spare, with their opening batsmen chasing down an easy target of 56 in Colombo Monday.
Afghanistan were bowled out for 296 in their second innings, setting Sri Lanka the low goal, with Dimuth Karunaratne (32 not out) and Nishan Madushka (22 not out) finishing the job within 7.2 overs.
Afghanistan were playing catch-up after conceding a lead of 241 runs in the first innings, but fought back well in their second dig with Ibrahim Zadran leading the way with a maiden Test hundred.
Rahmat Shah backed up the opening batter with a half-century but once the pair were dismissed, Afghanistan folded quickly.
Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva said Afghanistan did well on day two with the ball but his team stuck to their plan.
"When both Angelo (Mathews) and I got dismissed, it might not seem that bad but that was the point that Afghanistan felt they were back in the game," he said.
"I think that was the crucial moment of the match. But our bowlers stuck to the plan all day (day 3), not giving runs away and keeping it tight."
Prabath Jayasuriya finished with his seventh five-wicket haul in Test cricket.