SL vs AFG: Dimuth Karunaratne clocks his seventh ODI fifty

Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne registered a fine half-century against Afghanistan in the second ODI at Hambantota. The veteran batter along with Pathum Nissanka gave the hosts a very decent start, which they failed to do in the last match. His knock of 52 was laced with seven boundaries. This was Karunaratne's seventh ODI fifty and first in the last two years. Here's more.

Karunaratne was dismissed cheaply in the last match. Therefore he wanted to make a mark on this game and he handed the hosts a great start along with Nissanka. The SL openers batted beautifully and added 82 runs for the first wicket. While Nissanka got out, Karunaratne continued his quest. However, he was trapped right in front by Noor Ahmad in the 23rd over.

Karunaratne made his ODI debut back in 2011 against England at Manchester. However, in this time frame, he has not been a consistent member of this team. He has featured in only 36 matches and scored 823 runs while slamming seven half-centuries. He is yet to score an ODI ton. This was his first fifty against Afghanistan, having amassed 109 runs in four matches.

The veteran opener was selected to play limited-overs cricket after two years. He last featured in an ODI match back in March 2021. This 52-run knock against the Afghans is his first ODI fifty in more than two years. His last fifty came against West Indies back in March 2021 when SL toured WI. Notably, he scored a 52-run knock, back then.

Openers, Nissanka and Karunaratne gave SL a fine start. Later, Kusal Mendis stitched an 88-run stand with Sadeera Samarawickrama, taking SL close to the 200-run mark. Cameos from Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga helped the hosts post 323/6. Fareed Ahmad and Mohammad Nabi scalped two wickets each for the Afghans.