Daily Times

Colombo: Left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando took four wickets on Friday as Sri Lanka bowled out Afghanistan for 198 runs on the first day of their one-off Test in Colombo.

Afghanistan were 109-2 after mainstay Rahmat Shah steadied them after a shaky start but Sri Lanka’s bowlers began to make inroads after lunch.

Vishwa found sideways deliveries to trouble the Afghan batsman while left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya and right-arm medium paceman Asitha Fernando took three wickets apiece.

Afghanistan lost their last six wickets for 43 runs as the lower order failed to put up a fight, with Asitha clearing the last two in three deliveries.

Rahmat, Afghanistan’s most experienced player who has featured in all their previous seven Tests, top-scored with an aggressive 91 that featured 13 boundaries.

A terrific one-handed catch from Sadeera Samarawickrama sent Rahmat back after a failed paddle sweep on a ball pitched on off-stump by Jayasuriya. Vishwa took a good return catch to dismiss opening batsman Noor Ali Zadran for 31, breaking his 57-run stand for the second wicket with Rahmat.

Noor was making his debut at the unusual age of 35. Nisha Madushka at gully took a low catch to dismiss Ikram Alikhil for 21.

Opener Ibrahim Zadran fell for a duck in the second ball of the match.

The match, which is not part of the World Test Championship (WTC), will be followed by three ODIs in Kandy and three T20 matches in Dambulla.