Mathews shine in SL’s thumping win Vs Afghanistan

Afghanistan tour of Sri Lanka (Second T20I)

Sri Lanka emerged victorious over Afghanistan by a margin of 72 runs in the second T20I and secured a unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match series.

Angelo Mathews, who recently made his T20I comeback, played a pivotal role for the Sri Lankan team with his contributions both with the bat and ball.

Batting at No.7, Mathews displayed an aggressive approach and scored an unbeaten 42 runs off just 22 balls, including 2 fours and 4 sixes. His impressive knock helped Sri Lanka reach a total of 187 for 6 in 20 overs in Dambulla international cricket stadium.

Earlier Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis provided a solid start by adding 45 runs in 3.5 overs for the opening wicket.

However, despite getting good starts, Nissanka, Mendis, and Dhananjaya de Silva failed to capitalize on their innings. Sadeera Samarawickrama scored 51 runs off 42 balls with 5 fours, but couldn’t accelerate the scoring rate throughout the innings.

Among the Afghan bowlers, Mohammad Nabi stood out with figures of 4-0-25-2. Azmatullah Omarzai also took 2 wickets but conceded runs at an economy rate of 10.

Chasing the challenging target, Afghanistan faced early setbacks and found themselves struggling at 31 for 5 in 4.3 overs.

Mohammed Nabi and Karim Janat tried to stabilize the innings by adding 39 runs off 29 balls. Nabi, who had earlier impressed with the ball, contributed 27 runs off 17 balls. Janat also showed promise with his knock of 28 runs off 23 balls before being dismissed by Wanindu Hasaranga.

Hasaranga finished with impressive figures of 4-0-19-2. However, it was Mathews who was awarded the Player of the Match for his all-round performance, which included picking up 2 wickets.

The two sides will next meet in the 3rd T20I scheduled to be played on Wednesday (21) at the same venue.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 187/6 in 20 overs (Sadeera Samarawickrama 51, Angelo Mathews 42*; Mohammed Nabi 2-25) beat Afghanistan 115 all out in 17 overs (Karim Janat 28, Mohammad Nabi 27; Angelo Mathews 2-9, Wanindu Hasaranga 2-19) by 72 runs