Cometh the hour, cometh the man – Dasun Shanaka stepped up when he was needed the most. The Sri Lankan skipper smacked 23 runs off Gerald Coetzee in a single over to keep his side in contention. 6, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 read the scorecard as Shanka reached his half-century chasing a massive target set by South Africa in the World Cup opener.
Dasun Shanaka brought up his fourth ODI fifty in a splendid fashion as he unleashed his carnage on the Proteas bowler. Starting the over with a massive six and then hitting four fours and taking a single off the last ball to keep the strike showed the pure aggressive force of the batter.
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The incident took place in the 37th over of the match when the Lankan skipper unleashed his fury. Let us take a look at how the over unfolded.
36.1 – SIX – Dasun Shanka begins the over with a majestic six. With the asking rate increasing, it was a now-or-never opportunity! Back of a length ball and Shanka attempts a wild swing with his bat. The ball flies off into the night sky taking a thick outside edge of the bat and sails over the ropes.
36.2 – FOUR – Dasun Shanka now changes his shot. He dances down the track to dispatch the ball. A slow floated delivery and the Lankan skipper needed no further invitation to slam the ball over mid-on for a four.
36.3 – FOUR – Three boundaries in a row. Another top edge and Shanka survives. This time he is rewarded with a boundary nonetheless. Short of a length ball, pitched outside off and with the third ball too fine, Shanaka’s outside edge falls safely on the ground and races to the ropes.
36.4 – FOUR – Four number 3 in a row! Another poor ball and rightly punished by Dasun Shanaka. A slow floater aimed at the stumps and falls right at the slot. Shanka smacks the ball straight down and gets a boundary.
36.5 – FOUR – Four of Four! Mayhem for the Proteas! Short of a length ball aimed at the waist. Shanka sees the slow ball and flicks in past the short fine leg to get a boundary and reach his half-century at run-a-ball.
36.6 – ONE – Last ball of the over, back of a length ball and Shanaka tries to get another four. He mistimes his shot and the ball hits his pads after an edge. He takes a single to retain his strike.
