{ "id": "123727", "author": "26", "cnmid": null, "title": "Zadran Stars As Afghanistan Beat Sri Lanka By Six Wickets In First ODI", "lang": "en", "series": "1", "cup_year": "2023", "article_type": "General", "excerpt": "Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran starred with run-a-ball 98 in his team's six-wicket win against hosts Sri Lanka in the first of three one-day internationals on Friday.", "subtype": null, "editor1": "

Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran starred with run-a-ball 98 in his team's six-wicket win against hosts Sri Lanka in the first of three one-day internationals on Friday. Scorecard<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Zadran and Rahmat Shah (55) top scored to steer the visitors to 269-4 in the 47th over after they won the toss and chose to field first in Hambantota.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Earlier Charith Asalanka top-scored with 91 to help Sri Lanka reach a below-par 268 all out after a shaky start pushed them to 84-3 inside 20 overs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The 21-year-old Zadran was dismissed by Kasun Rajitha, who was Sri Lanka's most effective bowler on the day, and finished with 2-49 in his 10 over spell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Zadran raced to his half-century in just 35 balls and hit 11 fours and two sixes in his innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Both his sixes came against rookie pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who recently made a name for himself with noteworthy performances for the latest IPL winners Chennai Super Kings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Wayward Pathirana finished with 1-66 in 8.5 overs of his debut ODI.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Zadran and Shah anchored the Afghan innings after other opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell for 14 in the sixth over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Mohammad Nabi (27) and Najibullah Zadran (7) remained unbeaten at the end to steer Afghanistan to victory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Sri Lanka's Lahiru Kumara took 1-21 in 4.3 overs as other Sri Lanka bowlers failed to make a dent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Zadran said it was "very tough to get out" close to his fourth century and praised his bowlers for "a very good job" to restrict Sri Lanka below 300.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"I wanted to finish the game and get a hundred but that's how it goes in cricket," he said after the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"A target of 269 was a good score, but not that challenging. The ball was coming on to that bat and we just wanted to finish things off," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Earlier, a 99-run stand between Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva for the fifth wicket rescued the hosts. De Silva made 51 before being bowled by Nabi.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi (2-58) claimed the wickets of Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis in his opening spell, and then Fareed Ahmad and Mujeeb ur Rahman made further inroads.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

After the dismissal of De Silva, captain Dasun Shanaka added 32 runs for the sixth wicket with Asalanka, but bowler Noor Ahmad accounted for the skipper with a well-disguised googly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Dushan Hemantha backed up Asalanka well in a 48-run stand for the seventh wicket. He made 22.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Asalanka scored his 91 off 95 balls with 12 fours, before being run out in the last over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Sri Lanka will use the series as preparation for World Cup qualifiers this month in Zimbabwe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Also Read: <\/b> Live Scorecard<\/a><\/p>

Afghanistan are already through to the sport's showpiece event this year in India and will be testing their combinations.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Afghanistan-vs-Sri-Lanka-1st-ODI-Scorecard2.jpg", "alt_img": "Ibrahim Zadran", "alt_title": "Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka By 6 wickets in 1st ODI", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Zadran Stars As Afghanistan Beat Sri Lanka By Six Wickets In First ODI On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran starred with run-a-ball 98 in his team's six-wicket win against hosts Sri Lanka in the first of three one-day internationals on Friday.", "seo_keywords": "Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan, Ibrahim Zadran", "tag": null, "tagging": "Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan,Ibrahim Zadran,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "zadran-stars-as-afghanistan-beat-sri-lanka-by-six-wickets-in-first-odi", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "2222", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2023-06-02 20:21:28", "updated": "2023-06-02 20:21:28", "img_from": "Image Source: Google", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka first ODI", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "1", "jio_date": "2023-06-02 20:21:28", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/zadran-stars-as-afghanistan-beat-sri-lanka-by-six-wickets-in-first-odi-123727" }