Australia cricketer David Warner dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva with a brilliant one-handed catch during the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Pallekele on Monday, an effort that left bowler Ashton Agar in disbelief.
Read also: Maxwell Stars will give Australia a 1-0 lead after tense chase
Struggling to carry on with his innings, de Silva tried to hit a boundary in the 26th over hoping for a boundary. Warner, who was positioned at mid-on, took a few steps to his right and leapt well to catch the ball with his left hand, sending the Sri Lankan batsman back to the dressing room.
Agar instinctively started celebrating the dismissal before he realized what Warner had just done as the left-arm spinner had both hands on his head. De Silva was dismissed after scoring seven runs.
Watch the catch below:
Great catch by David Warner#SLVAUS pic.twitter.com/PBC3xV5P6D
— Umair Khan (@UmairKhWorld) 14 June 2022
Agar finished with figures of 2/49 in his 10 overs.
Meanwhile, thanks to scintillating half-centuries from his top three and a late blitz from Wanindu Hasaranga, the hosts posted a decent total of 300/7 at the Pallekele International. Cricket Pathum Nisanka, who came to bat first, scored 56 while Danushka Gunathilaka scored 55 runs.
3 Kusal Mendis was their top scorer with 86 off 87 before Hasrana’s 37 off 19 with six fours to help flourish late.
Chasing 301, Australia lost opener Warner for ducks in three balls before Steve Smith (53) and Aaron Finch (44) recovered quickly. A 90-minute rain-break meant the innings was reduced to 44 overs and the tourists’ target under DLS was revised to 282.
Glenn Maxwell then played brilliantly, scoring an unbeaten 80 off 51 balls with the help of six fours and as many sixes as Australia won by two wickets. Australia are now leading 1-0 in the five-match series.
“It was a good game of cricket, that innings from Maxwell was pure class. Showed a lot of skill. We were one wicket behind where we would have liked to be towards the end, but it was an exceptional innings from Maxwell, a few more wickets in hand would have been ideal,” Australian captain Finch said in a post-match presentation.
The second ODI will be played at the same ground on Thursday.
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