Sri Lankan players donate 25% of their match fees to a fund supporting former cricketers

After the Test series, Sri Lanka and South Africa faced off in the 1st ODI of the three-match series today in Dambulla. While the hosts completely dominated the Test series with spin dictating terms one-day cricket is played on flatter wickets and wasn’t expected to be such a huge factor. The first match didn’t quite go as planned for Sri Lanka as they lost the game by 5 wickets. However, it was an important game as the Sri Lanka Cricket team had decided offer 25% of their match fee for the support of former cricketers who are facing economic hardships.

All the players who were a part of the match will share their fees with the Minister of Provincial Councils. The Ministry has set up a separate fund for the same cause. They also have the Local Government and Sports Faiszer Musthapha as partners in the initiative. The XI that played this game includes Angelo Mathews after a really long time, who made a comeback after a long injury layoff and led the team.

Sri Lankan XI in the 1st ODI: Upul Tharanga, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews (C), Niroshan Dickwella, Thisara Perera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Lakshan Sandakan, Lahiru Kumara

South Africa off to a winning start

It was Mathews who won the toss and decided to bat first. The Dambulla wicket wasn’t expected to change a lot and runs on the board in the first match of the series is always an advantage. Their strong top order the likes of Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga and Kusal Mendis were dismissed for a total of 15 runs between them as Kagiso Rabada struck twice to remove Dickwella and Mendis while Tharanga was run out.

The initial burst set the tone of the game and chinaman Tabraiz Shamsi exploited the conditions really well to bag a four-wicket haul and had figures of 4/30 in 8.3 overs. As a result, the Sri Lankan innings ended on 193.

South Africa in the chase also lost a few wickets but the target was too low for it to be a problem. In the end, JP Duminy hit a boundary to get to his half century and to take the team over the line with 5 wickets and 19 overs to spare.

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