He displayed a brilliant presence of mind to deny the batter a Test hundred.
Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Sadeera Samarawickrama displayed a brilliant presence of mind to deny Rahmat Shah his second Test hundred during the ongoing one-off Test between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Sadeera demonstrated excellent reading of Prabath Jayasuriya’s delivery and strategically positioned himself off the leg side to secure a remarkable low catch at leg slip. The Afghan batter attempted a sweep shot in search of a boundary and nearly succeeded, but Sadeera’s clever maneuver left both the batter and the spectators astounded.
Recognizing the significance of the dismissal, the on-field umpire referred the decision to the third umpire to verify that it wasn’t a bump catch. Upon reviewing the replays, it was confirmed that the catch was cleanly executed, with the ball striking the bat and settling into Samarawickrama’s gloves without any contact with the ground. TV umpire Alex Wharf, after a meticulous examination, upheld it as a fair catch.
WHAT AN EFFORT, SAMARAWICKRAMA 🤯🔥pic.twitter.com/hR0UiZeYIN
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 2, 2024
Earlier, Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva elected to field first, leading to Ibrahim Zadran’s early dismissal by Asitha Fernando in the opening over. Noor Ali Zadran (31) and Rahmat Shah (91) then formed a 57-run partnership. Noor Ali was subsequently dismissed by Vishwa Fernando, followed by the departure of Hashmatullah Shahidi (17) after a 52-run partnership with Rahmat.
Hashmatullah and Nasir Jamal fell rapidly to Vishwa Fernando and Prabath Jayasuriya, respectively, while Rahmat continued to resist from the other end. It ultimately required a brilliant display of thinking and wicket-keeping skills from Samarawickrama to remove Rahmat off Jayasuriya.
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Afghanistan was eventually bowled out for 198, with Vishwa Fernando claiming four wickets and Prabath Jayasuriya contributing three to the tally.
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