Twitter Reactions: Ibrahim Zadran's 98 powers Afghanistan to comfortable win over Sri Lanka in first ODI

Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.

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Afghanistan and Sri Lanka
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Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

The first ODI of the three-match series between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan got underway on Friday, June 2 at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota. Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi called it correctly at the toss and invited the hosts to bat first.

The decision was vindicated by Fazalhaq Farooqi who got rid of Dimuth Karunaratne in the third over. Farooqi further dismissed Kusal Mendis in the ninth over to give second blow to the hosts. Afghanistan further tightened their grip on the game with the big wicket of Angelo Mathews (12 off 21) and well-set Pathum Nissanka (38 off 59).

With Sri Lanka reeling at 84/4 after 19.2 overs, Charith Asalanka (91 off 95) and Dhananjaya de Silva (51 off 59) got together for a 99-run partnership for the fifth wicket. The partnership was ended by Mohammad Nabi who cleaned up de Silva in the 38th over. Captain Dasun Shanaka departed cheaply after scoring (17 off 16) losing his stumps against Noor Ahmad.

A 48-run stand between Dushan Hemantha (22 off 20) and Asalanka for the seventh wicket took the total past 250. Asalanka failed to complete his hundred as he got involved in an unfortunate run out in the last over. As a result, Sri Lanka got bundled out for 268 in their allotted 50 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi (2/58, 9 overs) and Fareed Ahmad (2/43, 8 overs) were the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan.

In reply, Afghanistan lost their opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz early in the innings. However, Ibrahim Zadran  (98 off 98) and Rahmat Shah (55 off 80) put on a massive 146-run stand for the second wicket off 149 balls to bring their side into the driving seat. The partnership was ended with Zadran’s dismissal who fell short of his hundred getting out for 98 against Kasun Rajitha.

Hashmatullah Shahidi and Mohammad Nabi provided the finishing touch to the innings

Hashmatullah Shahidi (38 off 47) and Mohammad Nabi (27* off 28) made sure there were no hiccups in the chase and managed to chase down the target of 269 in 46.5 overs. Kasun Rajitha was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka as he picked up 2/49 in ten overs. Meanwhile, Twitter was abuzz with reactions on Afghanistan's victory.

Here are some of the Tweets from the thrilling first ODI between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan:

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