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Jayasuriya, Asitha and batters lead Sri Lanka to comfortable win in one-off Test
Sri Lanka’s use of the second new ball sent Afghanistan tumbling to a ten-wicket defeat on day four. Having begun the day with only one wicket down and within striking distance of the lead, Afghanistan crashed, losing their remaining nine for 82 runs. Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya was the primary destroyer, taking five wickets in a devastating spell either side of lunch. Asitha Fernando claimed two more wickets to add to his one from yesterday, and Kasun Rajitha also struck twice.
Some lower-order hitting extended Afghanistan’s total to 296, but they will be disheartened that having begun their second innings with two century partnerships, none of the rest of their stands breached even 25. They set Sri Lanka 56 runs for victory. With little pressure on them, Sri Lanka’s openers knocked off the runs inside eight overs, with Dimuth Karunaratne racing to 32 off 22 and Nishan Madushka striking 22.
The second new ball became due five overs into the day. Sri Lanka took it immediately, and found success soon after. It was Rajitha – playing as a concussion substitute for Chamika Gunasekara – who made the first incision to end the 108-run second-wicket stand between Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah. In his first over with the second new ball, Rajitha angled one in to Rahmat, then straightened it slightly off the seam on about a fourth-stump line. Rahmat was forced to play, and ended up providing a thin edge through to the wicketkeeper.
Jayasuriya then entered the fray, and immediately found that the harder seam of this ball allowed his deliveries to grip and leap off the surface. He had Ibrahim dropped by Dinesh Chandimal on the deep-square leg fence on 109, but flummoxed the batter not long after.
The ball now beginning to take turn, Ibrahim played for one that spun in the 90th over, but this one just went on with the arm, whizzed between bat and pad, and clattered into off stump, ending Afghanistan’s best innings of the match so far. Ibrahim had added only 13 to his overnight score, as he fell for 114.
Hashmatullah Shahidi was out to one that did turn and take his outside edge; Qais Ahmad was caught beautifully by Dhananjaya de Silva, who dived forward at slip and intercepted the ball centimetres from the ground; and Zia-ur-Rehman left a Jayasuriya delivery that continued with the arm and crashed into off stump – the second time this match Jayasuriya claimed such a dismissal.
In between the Jayasuriya wickets, Asitha – the best of Sri Lanka’s seamers in this match – also added one to his wicket column. Bowling back of a length and outside off stump, he had Ikram Alikhil edge one to second slip, where Kusal Mendis also took an excellent low catch diving forward.
Sri Lanka 439 (Angelo Mathews 141, Dinesh Chandimal 107, Naveed Zadran 4-83) and 56 for 0 (Dimuth Karunaratne 32*, Nishan Madushka 22*) beat Afghanistan 198 (Rahmat Shah 91, Vishwa Fernando 4-51, Asitha Fernando 3-24) and 296 (Ibrahim Zadran 114, Prabath Jayasuriya 5-107, Asitha Fernando 3-63) by ten wickets
The “Siri Dalada Wandanawa”, the special exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic, commenced today (18) with the participation of President Anura Kumara Disanayake.
The President placed the first floral tribute to the Sacred Tooth Relic after which the public were allowed to pay homage. A large number of devotees from all over the country arrived at the Temple of the Tooth Relic today (18) to pay their homage.
The public will have the opportunity to venerate the Sacred Tooth Relic from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m from tomorrow (19).
Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Hiniduma Sunil Senevi along with other Ministers and Ambassadors and High Commissioners representing Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, the Netherlands, India, Myanmar, Palestine, France, New Zealand, Cuba, Egypt, Japan, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Canada and South Korea, Public officials, Members of the security forces and a large number of local and foreign devotees were also present.
Hamas has formally rejected Israel’s latest ceasefire offer, saying it is prepared to immediately negotiate a deal that would see the release of all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
In a video statement, Hamas’ chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said: “We will not accept partial deals that serve Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political agenda.”
Fifty-nine hostages remain in captivity and 24 are thought to be alive. Israel’s latest offer involved a 45-day ceasefire in return for the release of 10 hostages.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said it was time “to open the gates of hell” on Hamas.
Hamas officials had already indicated to the BBC earlier in the week that they would reject the plan.
“Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda, which is based on continuing the war of extermination and starvation, even if the price is sacrificing all his prisoners [hostages],” Hayya said.
He added the group was “ready to immediately negotiate a deal to swap all hostages with an agreed number of Palestinians jailed by Israel” and end the war.
Hamas has previously said it would contemplate an overall deal to end the war but the two sides are nowhere near any kind of agreement that would bring that about.
Israel’s stated aim is the complete disarmament and destruction of Hamas. Meanwhile dozens of Gazans are dying each day in air strikes with no humanitarian aid entering the strip at all.
The latest series of Israeli strikes killed at least 37 people, the majority of them displaced civilians living in a tented camp, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency.
Witnesses in al-Mawasi said dozens of Palestinians including children had died after tents were set ablaze following a “powerful” explosion.
“I rushed outside and saw the tent next to mine engulfed in flames,” a man told the BBC’s Gaza Lifeline programme.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment but said that it was looking into reports of the strikes.
Israel has previously told Palestinians to evacuate from other parts of Gaza to al-Mawasi.
The Israeli military said attacks over the past two days had “struck over 100 terror targets” including “terrorist cells, military structures and infrastructure sites”.
Israel said there was no shortage of aid and that it was maintaining the blockade installed on 1 March to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
However the heads of 12 major aid groups said the humanitarian aid system in Gaza was “facing total collapse”.
The war began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas carried out a cross-border attack on Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign against Hamas has killed at least 51,065 people, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry
[BBC]
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