Relentless spells from Vishwa Fernando (4-51), Prabath Jayasuriya (3-67) and Asitha Fernando (3-24) helped Sri Lanka boss the opening day’s play against Afghanistan at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo on Friday (February 2). The trio’s efforts ensured that Sri Lanka’s latest Test captain Dhananjaya de Silva’s decision to bowl at the toss was vindicated, with Afghanistan folding for a low total of 198.

Rahmat Shah was the only batter for the visitors to show a solid resistance as he stroked his way to a 139-ball 91, studded with 13 fours. The Afghanistan No.3 looked composed at the crease and was rarely troubled by either pace or spin. Unfortunately for Rahmat, none of his partners hung around long enough for him to combine for a sizeable partnership.

The innings started on a false note for Afghanistan as Asitha trapped Ibrahim Zadran LBW off just the second ball of the match. Noor Ali Zadran looked fluent in his brief stay but fell to a soft dismissal against Vishwa who took a caught and bowled to remove the opener.

Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi dug in and was involved in a half-century stand with Rahmat as Afghanistan got to 109/2 in the 33rd over. It seemed like the visitors would gradually work themselves towards a position of comfort. However, Vishwa returned to get rid of Shahidi and that started a collapse from which Afghanistan never recovered. The left-arm spin of Jayasuriya plugged away at one end, reaping rewards for some attacking bowling and also aided by some half-hearted batting. Rahmat was the fifth batter out with the score reading 155 and the remaining five wickets added just 43 more.

Sri Lanka’s opening pair of Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka then drove home the advantage further with a solid unbroken stand. The former was the aggressor as he constantly peppered the gaps to find boundaries, allowing him to score at better than run-a-ball. While not matching his partner’s pace of scoring, Madushka also got going briskly as the pair took heavy toll of some listless bowling from the tourists.

Brief scores:
Afghanistan 198 (Rahmat Shah 91, Noor Ali Zadran 31,  Ikram Alikhil 21, Quais Ahmad 21,  Vishwa Fernando 4-51, Asitha Fernando  3-24, Prabath Jayasuriya 3-67) lead Sri Lanka 80/0 (Dimuth Karunaratne 42*, Nishant Madushka 36*) by 118 runs.