NEW DELHI: Sri Lankan spin sensation
Wanindu Hasaranga
achieved a remarkable milestone on Monday, becoming the second Sri Lankan player after
Lasith Malinga
to take 100 wickets in T20 Internationals (T20Is).
Hasaranga accomplished this feat during the second match of the three-match
T20I
in Dambulla. This makes him the eleventh player overall to breach the 100-wicket barrier in T20Is and the second fastest to reach this milestone.
The historic moment for Hasaranga came during the second T20I against Afghanistan, which
Sri Lanka
won by a massive margin of 72 runs.
The leg-spinner, who currently leads the T20I side, now holds the record for the most wickets by any bowler in men's T20Is since his debut in 2019.
Apart from Malinga, he is the only other Sri Lankan bowler to achieve the remarkable feat of 100 T20I wickets. However, Hasaranga achieved this milestone in just 63 matches, whereas Malinga took 76 matches to accomplish the same. The fastest bowler to reach 100 T20I wickets is
Rashid Khan
, who achieved this milestone in 53 matches in 2021.
During the second T20I, Hasaranga displayed exceptional bowling skills, finishing with figures of 2/19 in his four overs in Dambulla. He now has a total of 101 wickets in 63 T20Is, with an impressive average of 15.36 and an economy rate of 6.78.
In addition to Hasaranga's outstanding performance,
Angelo Mathews
, Dinura Fernando, and Matheesha Pathirana also made significant contributions to Sri Lanka's victory.
Mathews took 2 wickets for 9 runs, Fernando took 2 wickets for 18 runs, and Pathirana took 2 wickets for 22 runs. Together, they bowled out Afghanistan for 115 runs in 17 overs, after Sri Lanka posted a big total of 187/6 in 20 overs. The Sri Lankan team had won the toss and elected to bat first.
Sadeera Samarawickrama
played a crucial role in the Sri Lanka innings, scoring a quick-fire 51 off just 42 balls. Mathews also played a blistering knock, smashing 42 off 22 deliveries to boost the Sri Lankan total. Despite a shaky start, with the team reduced to 86/3 in the 10th over, Samarawickrama and Mathews ensured a competitive score.
With this impressive victory, Sri Lanka now leads the three-match series against Afghanistan by 2-0. The team will look to maintain their winning streak and secure a clean sweep in the final match.
(With inputs from IANS)
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