Afghanistan National Cricket Team Vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Match Scorecard: Samuditha Debut 5-for & Avishka’s 2 Tons

June 19, 2026, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Sri Lanka A defeated Afghanistan A by 103 runs to secure their place in the Tri-Nation Final (against India A). The foundation of the win was laid by Avishka Fernando, who scored another brilliant century (110 off 97), marking his second consecutive hundred against the same Afghanistan A side a consistency that largely went unnoticed.

Then came the turning point: 17-year-old debutant Dulaj Samuditha, who, in his very first match, picked up 5/25 in 6.5 overs and completely dismantled Afghanistan A’s middle and lower order. His left-arm seam spell proved to be the game-changer. Overall, this wasn’t just a routine win, It was a combination of an experienced batter’s back-to-back dominance and a young bowler’s breakout debut, both of which sealed Sri Lanka A’s place in the final.

AFG-A vs SL-A 2026: all encounters at a glance

Match	Date	Venue	SL-A Score	AFG-A Score	Result
Tri-Nation Match 3	Jun 13, 2026	Rangiri Dambulla, Dambulla	231/2 (28.1 ov — DLS)	245 (49.4 ov)	SL-A won by 8 wkts (DLS)
Tri-Nation Match 6	Jun 19, 2026	Rangiri Dambulla, Dambulla	322/8 (50 ov)	219 (42.5 ov)	SL-A won by 103 runs
UAE Tri-Series 2025, Match 6	Apr 23, 2025	Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi	232/6 (38.4 ov)	228/8 (50 ov)	SL-A won by 4 wkts

SL-A vs AFG-A record in 2025-26 A-team cricket: SL-A 3-0 AFG-A. Sri Lanka A won all three encounters.

Match 6: SL-A 322/8 beat AFG-A 219 by 103 runs (Dambulla, June 19, 2026)

Match info

Tournament	Tri-Nation A Series in Sri Lanka 2026 — Match 6 (final group match)
Date	Thursday, June 19, 2026
Venue	Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla
Toss	Afghanistan A won the toss, elected to field first
Result	Sri Lanka A won by 103 runs
Significance	SL-A qualified for the Tri-Nation A Series 2026 Final
Player of Match	Avishka Fernando (110 off 97 balls)

SL-A innings: 322/8 (50 overs)

Batter	R	B	4s	6s	SR	Notes
Avishka Fernando	110	97	13	1	113.40	Player of Match; 2nd century vs AFG-A in same series
Niroshan Dickwella	66	54	12	0	122.22	Explosive opening partner; 133-run stand
Nuwanidu Fernando	45	70	—	—	64.28	Middle-order stabiliser
Ravindu Fernando	25	—	—	—	—	Lower-order contribution
Bowling (AFG-A)	O	M	R	W	Eco
Faridoon Dawoodzai	10	0	60	4	6.00	Best AFG-A figures; 4 key wickets
Farmanullah	10	0	68	3	6.80	AFG-A’s second-wicket taker
Shams Ur Rahman	6	0	49	0	8.16	Expensive
Khalil Gurbaz	9	1	41	0	4.55	Most economical AFG-A bowler

FOW (SL-A): 1-133 (Dickwella, 16.3 ov), 2-226 (Avishka, 35.3 ov), 3-247, 4-257, 5-265, 6-274, 7-313, 8-319.

AFG-A reply: 219 (42.5 overs)

Batter	R	B	4s	6s	SR	Notes
Hassan Eisakhil	74	78	—	—	94.87	AFG-A’s only sustained resistance
Bahir Shah	35	—	—	—	—	Second-highest scorer
Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai	19	—	—	—	—
Farmanullah	43	39	—	—	110.25	Lower-order aggression; not out at 43
Bowling (SL-A)	O	M	R	W	Eco
Dulaj Samuditha	6.5	0	25	5	3.63	A-team debut; 5 wickets; match-winner
Kugathas Mathulan	7	0	28	3	4.00	Excellent support; lower-order clean-up

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Result: SL-A won by 103 runs. AFG-A bowled out in 42.5 overs 104 short of 323.

The match-turning moments nobody analyses in Match 6

The 133-run opening partnership: how it decided Match 6 in the first 16 overs

Avishka Fernando (110) and Niroshan Dickwella (66) put on 133 runs in the first 16.3 overs averaging 8.3 runs per over.

In ODI cricket, a 133-run opening stand that ends before over 17 sets a match up completely. It means the batting side has “banked” 133 off 99 balls giving their middle order 33 overs to build on a dominant base. It’s very difficult to recover from in 50-over cricket when the batting team is also batting with depth.

What people think: SL-A’s 322/8 came from total team dominance. Reality: It came from a 133-run first-wicket foundation that Afghanistan A’s bowlers had no answer to. Faridoon Dawoodzai’s 4/60 and Farmanullah’s 3/68 combined figures of 7/128 in 20 overs were actually reasonable figures on a Dambulla pitch given that SL-A had already posted 133 in 16 overs before the 7 wickets fell. AFG-A’s bowling performed better than a 322 concession suggests. The opening partnership is the reason the scorecard looks one-sided.

Dulaj Samuditha 5/25 on A-team debut the best debut bowling in 2026 A-team cricket

Making his Sri Lanka A debut, left-arm seamer Dulaj Samuditha took 5 wickets for 25 runs in 6.5 overs economy 3.63.

This was not tail-only wickets. Hassan Eisakhil (74, AFG-A’s top scorer and best batter in the match) was still at the crease when Samuditha began his lethal spell. His dismissal the one that broke AFG-A’s backbone came as part of Samuditha’s burst alongside Mathulan’s 3/28.

Unique insight: Dulaj Samuditha’s 5/25 on A-team debut against an Afghanistan A side that contains international-level cricketers (Eisakhil, Bahir Shah, Farmanullah all with AFG national team experience) is extraordinarily rare. Most debutants at A-team level take 1-2 wickets or go for runs while finding their feet. Samuditha took five, in 6.5 overs, for 25 runs, at the critical point in the match when Afghanistan A still had hope at 147/6 from 29 overs.

AFG-A at 147/6 in 29.1 overs: the moment the match was over

Afghanistan A were at 147/6 in 29.1 overs still needing 176 from 20.5 overs with only 4 wickets in hand. Eisakhil (74) had just been dismissed. Bahir Shah (35) was already gone.

Kugathas Mathulan (3/28) and Samuditha (5/25) divided the remaining work between them. AFG-A limped to 219 all out in 42.5 overs an additional 72 runs from the last 4 wickets in 13.4 overs (72 runs at 5.26/over, well below the required rate of 8.57/over from the 147/6 position).

This is where things go wrong in reading a scoreline like “219 all out”: It implies a team that was never competitive. But AFG-A’s bowling (7 wickets from Dawoodzai and Farmanullah) had genuinely threatened SL-A’s innings, and their batting (147/6 at over 29) had kept a mathematical chance alive. The final 72 runs from the last 4 wickets tells the real story Samuditha and Mathulan shut the game down completely once the recognised batters were out.

Avishka Fernando’s back-to-back centurie: 108 in Match 3, 110 in Match 6

Match	Date	Score	Balls	SR	Opponent
Tri-Nation Match 3	Jun 13, 2026	108	79	136.70	vs AFG-A (DLS chase)
Tri-Nation Match 6	Jun 19, 2026	110	97	113.40	vs AFG-A (regular innings)

Avishka Fernando scored centuries against Afghanistan A in back-to-back Tri-Nation matches Match 3 (108 off 79, DLS chase) and Match 6 (110 off 97).

The nature of these two centuries is different. In Match 3, his 108 off 79 was an attacking DLS chase where SL-A needed 231 in 41 overs with wickets in hand Avishka set the tempo from the start. In Match 6, his 110 off 97 was the anchor of a regular 50-over innings building the platform for SL-A’s 322/8 alongside Dickwella’s explosive 66 off 54.

Match 3: SL-A beat AFG-A by 8 wkts (DLS): AFG-A 245 vs SL-A 231/2 in 28.1 overs (Dambulla, June 13, 2026)

Match info and scorecard

Tournament	Tri-Nation A Series in Sri Lanka 2026 — Match 3
Date	Friday, June 13, 2026
Venue	Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla
Format	2nd innings reduced to 41 overs due to rain (DLS applied)
Result	Sri Lanka A won by 8 wickets (DLS)

Innings	Team	Score	Key performers
1st	Afghanistan A	245 (49.4 ov)	— (all out); Chamika Gunasekara 3/— for SL-A
2nd	Sri Lanka A	231/2 (28.1 ov — DLS target)	Avishka Fernando 108 off 79, Sadeera Samarawickrama 60 off 70

Result: SL-A reached DLS target 231 in 28.1 overs with 8 wickets in hand 12.5 overs ahead of schedule.

Was the DLS target fair? AFG-A’s 245 rendered irrelevant by rain

Afghanistan A scored 245 all out in 49.4 overs a competitive score on a Dambulla surface in the 2026 series context (the average first-innings total at Dambulla in this Tri-Nation was approximately 250-260).

Rain reduced SL-A’s target to 231 in 41 overs a DLS adjustment that effectively set SL-A a target that was 14 runs less than AFG-A scored in 50 overs, with 9 more overs available than AFG-A batted. SL-A needed 231 in 41 overs a required rate of 5.63/over after AFG-A had scored 245 at 4.95/over.

Counterintuitive insight: DLS targets are mathematically correct but feel emotionally unfair when they significantly advantage the chasing team. AFG-A posting 245 in 50 overs is a genuinely competitive performance the average team on that day would have needed 45+ overs to chase it. SL-A needed only 28.1 overs. Avishka Fernando (108 off 79) and Samarawickrama (60 off 70) made it look effortless but the target was 14 runs below what AFG-A scored.

UAE A-Team Tri-Series 2025: AFG-A 228/8 vs SL-A 232/6 (SL-A won by 4 wkts, April 23, 2025)

Innings	Team	Score	Key performers
1st	Afghanistan A	228/8 (50 ov)	Qais Ahmad 3/40 (bowling); Ikram Alikhil 44 (batting)
2nd	Sri Lanka A	232/6 (38.4 ov — 11 balls remaining)	Kamil Mishara 81 off 72, Pavan Rathnayake 46 off 41*; Farmanullah 1/32

Result: SL-A won by 4 wickets with 11 balls remaining. SL-A chased 229 in 38.4 overs 50-over match, chased in 38.4.

What this match adds to the pattern: The UAE 2025 encounter shows that AFG-A’s best bowler at the time Qais Ahmad (3/40, 10 overs) could challenge SL-A’s batting order but not prevent their win. SL-A won with 2 wickets down while targeting the last ball boundary Rathnayake (46 off 41) finished the chase. AFG-A’s bowling was again more competitive than their batting (228/8 in 50 overs a below-par score for Abu Dhabi conditions).

AFG-A’s 2026 Tri-Nation: why they finished last despite competitive bowling

Team	M	W	L	Pts	NRR
Sri Lanka A	4	3	1	6	+—
India A	4	2	2	4	+—
Afghanistan A	4	1	3	2	-—

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Afghanistan A’s sole victory: they beat India A on June 18, 2026, eliminating India A from the automatic qualification spot (though India A still qualified for the Final as group runners-up). Their 1 win from 4 games against a group that included India A and Sri Lanka A shows genuine competitive capacity against at least one top-tier A side.

Unique insight: Afghanistan A’s primary failure in the 2026 Tri-Nation was batting not bowling. Their bowlers (Dawoodzai 4/60, Farmanullah 3/68 in Match 6; Chamika Gunasekara’s victims in Match 3) challenged both India A and Sri Lanka A at various points. Their batting failing to chase SL-A’s totals in 2 of their 3 games was the structural weakness that kept them at the bottom of the table. This is a pattern in AFG A-team cricket in 2025-26: individual batting brilliance (Eisakhil 74) surrounded by a fragile middle order that collapses under pressure (147/6 to 219 all out in 13 overs).

SL vs AFG ODI head-to-head: all 15 international ODIs (SL leads 10-4)

Stat	Value
Total ODIs played (international)	15
Sri Lanka wins	10
Afghanistan wins	4
No Result/Abandoned	1
SL highest total vs AFG	381
AFG highest total vs SL	339
SL lowest vs AFG	158
AFG lowest vs SL	116

AFG’s 4 wins: the pattern of upsets in ICC events

AFG win	Date	Venue	Result
1st	Sep 17, 2018	Abu Dhabi, Asia Cup	AFG won by 91 runs
2nd	Nov 25, 2022	Kandy, bilateral	AFG won by 60 runs
3rd	Oct 30, 2023	Pune, Asia Cup Super 4	AFG 257/4 beat SL 155 by 7 wkts
4th	Jun 2, 2023	Hambantota, bilateral	AFG won by 6 wickets

What most people miss: Afghanistan’s 4 wins from 15 ODIs against Sri Lanka include 2 victories in ICC tournament Super 4/knockout-adjacent fixtures (2018 Asia Cup, 2023 Asia Cup). Their most dramatic win October 2023 Pune, Asia Cup Super 4 remains Sri Lanka’s lowest score (155 all out) against Afghanistan in ODI cricket. AFG’s 257/4 in Pune (with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran opening) completely dismantled a Sri Lanka side that had been competitive in the Asia Cup 2023 group stage.

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