Opener Ibrahim Zadran led Afghanistan's fightback at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo on Day 4 of the only Test against Sri Lanka. Ibrahim's maiden Test century helped Afghanistan reduce the trail to 42 runs which gives Afghanistan a chance if they manage to set a challenging target against the Dhananjaya de Silva-led side.
Sri Lanka started the day at 410/6. Centuries from Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal had helped the side dominate the visitors. Wicketkeeper-battter Sadeera Samarawickrama was the first to fall. Naveen Zadran dismissed him for a 33-ball 27. Chamika Gunasekara was hit by Naveen's bouncer and had to leave the field. Naveen made Prabath Jayasuriya his second victim of the day. Nijat Masood wrapped up Sri Lanka's innings with the wicket of Asitha Fernando. Sri Lanka posted 439 in reply to Afghanistan's 198.
Kasun Rajitha replaced Gunasekara as a concussion substitute as Afghanistan's innings began. In Rajitha's second over, Ibrahim hit three consecutive fours. After the lunch break, the openers were cautious, and Noor Ali Zadran was more so. In the 34th over, Ibrahim smashed Jayasuriya down the ground. The ball touched his fingertips but it was too tough a catch to pull off. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka had lost a couple of reviews.
After the tea break, they completed a 100-run partnership. This is the first century-partnership for Afghanistan in Test cricket. The previous best of 53 was between Javed Ahmadi and Ibrahim. It came against the West Indies in November 2019 in Lucknow. In the 43rd over, Asitha broke the partnership with Noor Ali Zadran's wicket. He got out lbw. The opener scored 47 runs from 136 balls featuring five fours.
Rahmat Shah came in to bat and opened his account with a first-ball boundary. Ibrahim got a reprieve when his catch was dropped by Nishan Madushka off Jayasuriya's bowling. He was batting on 63 then. Rahmat batted well and neared his half-century towards the end of the day. In the last over of the day, Ibrahim reached his maiden Test ton. He reached the milestone of 216 deliveries. On the other end, Shah remained unbeaten for 45. Afghanistan’s score was 199/1 after 75 overs.
Afghan batters who have scored a Test century
Ibrahim is only the fourth Afghan batter to score a Test century. Shah achieved it against Bangladesh in 2019. Hashmatullah Shahidi and Asghar Afghan reached the milestone against Zimbabwe in 2021. Shahidi is the only Afghan batter to score a double century in Tests.
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