Sri Lanka's Lahiru Kumara claims his maiden four-fer in ODIs
Albeit in a losing cause, Sri Lankan pacer Lahiru Kumara bowled a fine spell in the third and deciding ODI versus Bangladesh in Chattogram. Kumara made the ball talk and claimed 4/48 from his eight overs. He recorded his maiden four-wicket haul in ODI cricket. Meanwhile, this was his fourth four-fer in List A cricket. Here are his stats.
A fine spell from Kumara
Kumara brought an end to Bangladesh's 50-run opening stand by dismissing Anamul Haque (12). He then sent back Najmul Hossain Shanto for a solitary run. While he did not let Towhid Hridoy (22) convert his start, the veteran Mahmudullah (1) was his final victim on the day. As he claimed the first four wickets, Bangladesh were reduced to 113/4.
His stats in ODI cricket
As mentioned, this was Kumara's maiden ODI four-fer as he has raced to 42 wickets from 31 games at a higher economy of 6.44. He has returned with nine wickets across seven ODIs versus Bangladesh (ER: 6.15). The pacer is closing in on 100 List A wickets. He currently owns 95 scalps with his economy being around 5.6.
How did the game pan out?
Batting first in the series decider, SL were off to a poor start and were reeling at 74/4. Youngster Janith Liyanage smoked a brilliant 101* as the visitors managed 235/10. In reply, Bangladesh faltered a bit after a fine start. While opener Tanzid Hasan made a brilliant 84, a fiery 48* from Rishad Hossain sealed Bangladesh's win (237/6 in 40.2 overs).