Sri Lanka secure Afghanistan Test after Jayasuriya five for

by Rex Clementine

It is only Afghanistan, yes, but Sri Lanka seem to be putting all their puzzles together leading up to a year filled with Test match cricket. Yesterday’s ten wicket win was completed before tea on day four as Prabath Jayasuriya claimed a five-wicket haul and he was well backed up by Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha, who shared five wickets between them.

Afghanistan resumed the day on 199 for one and were trailing by just 42 runs. There were few worried faces for Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah had been hardly troubled with the wicket flattening out.

But Chris Silverwood probably knew that the game was within his reach for the second new ball was five overs away.

Soon after it was made available Kasun Rajitha broke an 108 run stand between Rahmat and Ibrahim having the number three batter caught behind.

Then Jayasuriya joined the party. You expected the seamers to do bulk of the bowling with the new cherry, but Jayasuriya was entrusted to do the job and he found turn and bounce. The manner in which he set up Ibrahim was a spectacle.

A couple of deliveries that turned sharp away from the body was followed by the ball that went straight on and the centurion was bowled between the gates.

The opening batter had played well for his hundred. He has done pretty well in white ball cricket and a maiden hundred in Test match cricket for the 22-year-old is further proof that this is a special talent.

When the day began, there was every possibility of the Test match going for the final day. Afghanistan had to just negotiate the new ball but they failed losing six wickets for 52 run in a session and it was game over.

Jayasuriya used the arm ball to good effect and then the one that turns away was always going to get the batsmen in trouble. It was his seventh five wicket haul. He had eight wickets in the game.

Asitha Fernando reverse swung the ball with little success and moving forward he’s going to be a key weapon for Sri Lanak when the ball gets older.

Kasun Rajitha should have been in the side in the first place but came in as Concussion Sub and proved that he needs to be among the top three picks for Test match cricket.

Dhananjaya de Silva looks the right-handed version of David Gower when he doesn’t get run out first ball. He is also more than a handy bowler. Then he pulls off stunners on the field like he did yesterday to dismiss Qais Ahmed. Very underrated cricketer.

It was quite a convincing win in the end as Sri Lanka romped home with ten wickets to spare. But would the presence of Rashid Khan test them a bit more?

One thing of course is certain. Afghanistan are going to be a strong force in Test cricket moving forward. They are already giving a torrid time for opponents in white ball cricket and in the recent World Cup beat three former champions – England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Come the T-20 World Cup this year, they are going to be more than a dark horses. Cheers to the Afghan warriors.