Sri Lanka clean sweep the series over Afghanistan

Sri Lanka registered a comfortable 7-wicket win over Afghanistan in the 3rd and final ODI of the series on Wednesday at Pallekele. Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bat first.

After winning the toss, Afghanistan were off to a flying start and scored 39 runs for the first wicket until Ibrahim Zadran was dismissed for 13 runs. After that, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rahmat Shah made a 57-run partnership for the second wicket. Gurbaz scored 48 runs. 12 runs later, skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi dismissed for 05 runs. After the second wicket, Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai added 58 runs for the fourth wicket, and Rahmat Shah got out for 65 runs for the fourth wicket. Later, Ikram Alikhil joined with Azmatullah Omarzai and made a 57-run partnership for the 5-run wicket. Ikram Alikhil scored 32 runs. After that, Afghanistan lost the moment, and they were all out for 266 runs in 48.2 overs. Azmatullah contributed 54 runs. For Sri Lanka, Pramod Madushan claimed three wickets.

In reply to that, Sri Lankan openers were off to a solid start and made a 173-run partnership for the 1st wicket, setting the platform for the chase. Avishka Fernando missed a well-deserved hundred and was dismissed for 91 runs. After that, skipper Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka added 78 runs for the second wicket until Kusal Mendis got out for 40 runs. Two runs later, the top scorer for Sri Lanka, Pathum Nissanka, was dismissed for 118 runs. After that, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka finished the game. Eventually, Sri Lanka scored 267 runs for a loss of 3 wickets in 35.2 overs.

With that, Sri Lanka cleanly swept the series 3-0.