Shaheen Afridi presented with special souvenir after bagging 100 Test wickets. (Screengrab/Pakistan Cricket Board) Shaheen Shah Afridi was given a souvenir by teammate Mohammad Rizwan after he completed 100 Test wickets in the 1st Test match against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
‘Many, many congratulations. You are an inspiration for our team. For the bowlers as well as the youngsters. Some players who play in the current team become inspiration for the whole unit. Like Babar Azam and you,” Rizwan said to Afridi in the locker room after the match.
Afridi became the 19th Pakistan player and the fourth quickest among fast bowlers from his country to the 100-wicket milestone when he had opening batsman Nishan Madushka caught behind.
A sweet 💯 and many more to come 🙌@iShaheenAfridi is presented with a special souvenir by @iMRizwanPak on completing 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ Test wickets 🤩🫂#SLvPAK pic.twitter.com/Zbq3wYAPJe
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) July 16, 2023
In the match, Afridi took 3 wickets as Sri Lanka finished the day with 242/6. Only 65.4 overs of the scheduled 90 were possible due to rain and play will get underway early on day two in a bid to make up for the lost time.
Vice-captain Dhananjaya de Silva put on an inspired show as he posted a back to the wall 94 and more importantly shared two crucial partnerships to help Sri Lanka recover.
De Silva was scheduled to bat at No. 6 wouldn’t have expected to be called upon in the first session of the game but found himself doing just that after Afridi and Naseem Shah bowled terrific spells with the new ball.
After the early damage by the seamers, de Silva added 131 runs with Angelo Mathews for the fifth wicket. Mathews looked uncomfortable against pace earlier on in his innings but once the spin came on he settled down and went on to post his 39th test half-century. He was dismissed for 64 when he nicked one to the wicketkeeper off the bowling of leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed.
De Silva was then involved in a 57-run stand with Sadeera Samarawickrama for the sixth wicket. The wicketkeeper was dismissed in the last over of the day for 36.
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