Sri Lanka wins the series !!
ICC
Afghanistan and Sri Lanka's ODI series ended with a dramatic match. Sri Lanka toured Afghanistan for the three-match ODI series. Afghanistan won the first match of the three-match series and hosts Sri Lanka won the second match. But in the end, in the unannounced final, the host Sri Lanka won the series by easily defeating Afghanistan!
The third match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka was played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium. The fans were excited about this match as both teams won the first two matches. Everyone wanted the victory of the last match to come in their favor. Afghanistan captain Hasmatullah Shahidi won the toss and decided to bat in the third match. But his batting decision at the beginning wasn't right for the team.
Two openers Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran started the batting for Afghanistan. However, at the stage of 13 runs, Gurbaz made his way to the pavilion. After losing this wicket they also keep losing one after another, Afghanistan went on the back foot. The team went under pressure losing four valuable wickets in the first 10 overs. No middle-order batter could handle that pressure. As a result, Afghanistan's innings stopped at 116 runs after losing all the wickets in the 23rd over.
In reply, two opening batsmen Nishakka and Dimuth Karunaratne made the victory easy for Sri Lanka. These two openers average a winning partnership of 84 runs. After that, Sri Lanka secured victory without losing any more wickets. Besides winning by nine wickets, Sri Lanka also won the series by 2-1. Hasaranga and Chamira were the heroes of victory in this match for Sri Lanka. These two bowlers broke the batting power of Afghanistan on this day.
Before the final match of this series, Sri Lanka lost against Afghanistan by six wickets in the first ODI. In that match, middle-order batsmen Assalanka and Dhananjaya De Silva's amazing batting helped Sri Lanka get 268 runs. But it wasn't enough to win. As a result, Afghanistan won in the 46th over with the contribution of Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, and two other Afghan batsmen with six wickets in hand.
Despite losing the first match, Sri Lanka made a good comeback in the second match. They won the 2nd match against Afghanistan by 130+ runs. Sri Lanka set a mountain target of 300+ runs to Afghanistan in the 2nd match. Afghanistan were all out before they scored that run. That match changed the fate of the host Sri Lanka in this series!