“Giving SL something to play for”: Twitter reactions on Chamika Karunaratne maiden ODI half century vs Australia

Chamika Karunaratne maiden ODI half century: The Sri Lankan all-rounder played a typical rescuing act at the Premdasa Stadium today.

During the fifth ODI of the ongoing Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in Colombo, Sri Lanka all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne’s maiden ODI half-century saved his team from an embarrassing innings total.

Coming in to bat at No. 8 in as early as the 17th over, Karunaratne scored 75 (75) with the help of eight fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 100. Sri Lanka, who were reeling at 61/6 at the time of Karunaratne’s arrival in the middle, managed to score 160/10 in 43.1 overs primarily due to his rescuing act.

It was only on the third delivery that Karunaratne faced off Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell that he hit a boundary to start his innings on a positive note. A boundary each in the next two overs perhaps aided Karunaratne in finding his rhythm this afternoon.

With Sri Lanka further crumbling to 85/8, the right-handed batter batted with supreme maturity to not give up without a fight. Karunaratne, whose batting potential wasn’t hidden until this day, proved a valid reason as to why he can be trusted with a bat in hand even at the highest level.

It was on the penultimate delivery of the 38th over that Karunaratne hit Australia pacer Pat Cummins for a boundary to bring up a maiden half-century in international cricket.

It was against Cummins that Karunaratne top-edged a delivery to lose his wicket. While the 26-year old player would’ve ideally wanted to play the remaining seven overs as well, Karunaratne now has the second-highest ODI score by a No. 8 Sri Lankan batter.

Twitter reactions on Chamika Karunaratne maiden ODI half century

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