Dasun Shanaka smashed a first-class century off 54 balls, as his team chased down 392 on the fourth day of the National Super League.
Playing the four-day game, former Sri Lanka white-ball skipper Shanaka was representing Dambulla against Kandy at Colombo. Batting first, Kandy made 453, led by a quick double ton from another international player, Pathum Nissanka. Dambulla, led by a hundred from skipper Dhananjaya de Silva, posted 340 in reply, with Shanka making 63 in 67 balls.
They were eventually given a fourth-innings target of 392 and had a solid start, with openers Nishan Madushka and Ron Chandraguptha putting on 136 for the first wicket. Shanaka then took over, reaching his hundred in no time, before falling two balls after getting to the mark. Dambulla eventually overhauled the target in 64.5 overs with four wickets to spare, scoring at 6.04 runs per over.
This was Shanaka's 13th century in first-class cricket. His last four first-class innings now read 100, 63, 47, 123.
Dambulla create team history with fourth-innings chase of 392
This was the eighth-highest score by Dambulla in their first-class history and the highest in the fourth innings. They had never chased above 250 successfully before, with their previous highest fourth-innings total in a win being 205, which they had made against Colombo in 2018.
The highest fourth innings chase to win a game in Sri Lanka is 513, which was achieved by Central Province against Southern Province at Kandy in the 2003/04 season.
Shanaka has not played a Test since 2021, turning out in six matches since his debut in 2016. He has scored 140 runs in 12 innings at an average of 14 with one fifty.
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