Wanindu Hasaranga becomes second-fastest bowler to claim 100 T20I wickets
Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga on Monday, February 19, became the second-fastest bowler to claim 100 T20I wickets. He achieved the feat during the second T20I against Afghanistan in Dambulla when he cleaned up Najibullah Zadran for 9.
Hasaranga reached the 100-wicket landmark in his 63rd match. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan is the only one above the Sri Lankan on the illustrious list. Rashid completed 100 T20I scalps in 53 matches in 2021. Hasaranga is only the second Sri Lankan to claim 100 wickets in the T20I format.
Former skipper Lasith Malinga is the other Lankan player to achieve the feat. He got there in 76 matches. Mark Adair (72) and Ish Sodhi (78) are the other bowlers who have completed 100 T20I scalps in less than 80 matches.
Hasaranga’s achievement came while leading Sri Lanka against Afghanistan in the second T20I in Dambulla. The hosts won the match by 72 runs. Batting first, the Lankans put up 187/6 on the board as Sadeera Samarawickrama top-scored with 51 off 42, while Angelo Mathews slammed 42* off 22. Hasaranga also chipped in with 22 off 9.
In response, Afghanistan were bowled out for 115 in 17 overs. Mathews, Binura Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana, and Hasaranga claimed two scalps apiece. In the 14th over, he bowled Najibullah Zadran to reach 100 T20I scalps in his 63rd game.
The Afghanistan batter attempted a slog sweep off a lobbed-up delivery, but completely missed the line of the ball. In the same over, Karim Janat (28 off 23) was brilliantly caught by Dasun Shanaka as the batter attempted to slap a googly. Apart from Janat, Mohammad Nabi (27) was the only Afghanistan batter to cross the 20-run mark.
With the thumping 72-run win on Monday in Dambulla, Sri Lanka took a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
“Still a long way to go” - Hasaranga on completing 100 T20I wickets
Speaking after the game, the Sri Lankan captain opened up on the landmark of completing 100 wickets in T20Is.
Sharing his thoughts on the achievement, he was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz:
“Still a long way to go. I trust my variations.”
On Sri Lanka’s impressive win, the 26-year-old added:
“Credit goes to the batters. They batted really well. Openers did a good job. Sadeera and Mathews finished well. Over 170, I back our bowling line up to defend it."
“We want to test our bench as well. Only four games left before the WC. So need to test our bench,” the leg-spinner further stated.
The third T20I of the Sri Lanka-Afghanistan series will be played in Dambulla on Wednesday, February 21.