Pathum Nissanka retires hurt after registering his 10th T20I fifty
Sri Lanka cricket team opener Pathum Nissanka entertained the home crowd with a superb half-century in the third and final T20I versus Afghanistan on Wednesday. Chasing 210, Nissanka started on a strong note and raced to 46 runs in the powerplay. He got to his fifty in the 8th over. Nissanka was forced to retire hurt after getting to 60 with a six.
Injury forces Nissanka to walk out
Nissanka came out all guns blazing given the score Afghanistan put up earlier. He dealt with boundaries and spanked Fareed Ahmad Malik for two fours and a six of three successive balls (6th over). Sri Lanka scored 64/1 in the powerplay overs. In the ninth over, Nissanka dispatched Noor Ahmad for a six but fell over, clutching his hamstring. He walked out thereafter.
10th T20I fifty for Nissanka
Nissanka (60*) hit eight fours and two sixes, striking at 200. Playing his 48th match, Nissanka raced to 1,231 runs for the Lankans at 27.97. He smashed his 10th fifty. As per ESPNcricinfo, Nissanka owns 139 runs for six games versus Afghanistan at 27.80. In 30 matches on Asian soil, he owns 718 runs at 27.61. Meanwhile, Nissanka hit his maiden fifty at home.
18th fifty in T20 cricket
Playing his 96th match in the 20-over format, Nissanka now owns 2,366 runs. He averages around 26. Nissanka hit his 18th T20 fifty. He also owns 3,448 runs in List A cricket and another 4,169 runs in FC cricket.
