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Sri Lanka openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka's magnificent partnership of 80 runs put the host in control after the end of play on Day 1 at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Friday.
After stumps on Day 1, Karunaratne is playing on 42 runs off 37 balls with the help of seven fours and Madushka is batting on 36 runs 48 balls with six boundaries in his innings so far. Talking about the visitors Afghanistan, they have used a total of four bowlers namely Nijat Masood (4-1-18-0), Mohammad Saleem Saifi (3-0-19-0), Naveed Zadran (4-0-22-0), and Ziar-ur-Rehman (3-0-20-0) so far. Earlier in the day, the hosts won the toss and opted to bowl first on the first day of the only Test to be played between the two sides. The Afghans were bundled out for 198 runs as they were able to play 62.4 overs. The highest scorer for the team was Rahmat Shah who played a knock of 91 runs from 139 balls with the help of 13 fours. Other than Rahmat, Noor Ali Zadran scored 31 runs off 46 balls which included five boundaries in his innings. The wicketkeeper-batter Ikram Alikhil and spinner Qais Ahmad played a knock of 21 runs each for their side. For Sri Lanka, the pick of the bowler was Vishwa Fernando who snapped four wickets in his spell of 12 overs where he conceded 51 runs. Other than him, Asitha Fernando grabbed three wickets in his spell of 14.4 overs where he leaked just 24 runs. Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya also bagged three wickets in his 25 overs where he gave away 67 runs and bowled seven maiden overs. Brief Score: Afghanistan 198 (Rahmat Shah 91, Noor Ali Zadran; 31 Vishwa Fernando 4/51) vs Sri Lanka 80/0 (Dimuth Karunaratne 42* Nishan Madushka 36*). (ANI)
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