• Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan by 132 runs in the second ODI of the three-match series.

  • Dhananjaya de Silva was adjudged 'Player of The Match' for his all-round performance.

Twitter reactions: Dhananjaya de Silva’s all-round show guides Sri Lanka to a massive victory against Afghanistan in the second ODI
Dhananjaya de Silva (Image Source: Twitter)

Sri Lanka put on an impressive performance in the second ODI of three-match series against Afghanistan and defeated the visitors by 132 runs at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (June 4).

Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Sri Lanka’s innings got off to a great start and was highlighted by some strong batting performances. While Kusal Mendis top-scored for the Islanders and smashed a brilliant 78 runs off 75 balls, Dimuth Karunaratne scored a solid 52 runs off 62 deliveries. Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama also made valuable contributions of 43 and 44 runs, respectively. Other notable contribution for the home team came from Dhananjaya de Silva, whose crucial 29 runs in the end helped Sri Lanka post a formidable total of 323/6 in their allotted 50 overs.

Fareed Malik and Mohammad Nabi were the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, taking two wickets each.

In reply, Afghanistan couldn’t get going in the run chase and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Although Hashmatullah Shahidi hammered 57 runs off 62 balls and Ibrahim Zadran added a convincing 54 runs off 75 deliveries for the Afghan side, no other batter could manage to cross the 40-run mark for them, and Afghanistan eventually were bowled out for 191 runs in 42.1 overs.

De Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga were the star performers with the ball for Sri Lanka. De Silva picked up three crucial wickets for the hosts and conceded just 39 runs in his quota of 10 overs. On the other hand, Hasaranga also claimed three wickets and gave away 42 runs in his nine overs. Dushmantha Chameera and Maheesh Theekshana both grabbed two wickets each as well. De Silva was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ for his all-round performance.

With this victory, Sri Lanka levelled the series 1-1. Notably, Afghanistan won the first ODI by six wickets.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

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VISHWANATH HARIHARAN
Vishwanath Hariharan is Content Strategist at CricketTimes.com. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. From breaking news stories to in-depth features and opinion pieces, he has covered a wide range of topics. Vishwanath is very fond of watching cricket. Like many others, he too grew up watching, playing, and imitating his favourite players of the game. MS Dhoni is like a demigod to him. You can connect with him at vishwanath.hariharan@crickettimes.com and follow him on Twitter & Linkedin.