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[Watch] SL Keeper's Dhoni-Esque 'Mastermind' Catch Stuns Cricket World 

image-ls4ghr4bSadeera Samarawickrama (x.com)

Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Sadeera Samarawickrama completed a sensational grab behind the stumps to curtail Afghanistan number three Rahmat Shah’s rebellious innings on Day 1 of their one-off Test match at Colombo.

At a time when Shah was looking all settled to notch up a rare Test century, the cricketer employed a paddle-sweep against Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, only to find an agile Samarawickrama in his transit towards leg slip.

Sadeera Samarawickrama swiftness gets Rahmat Shah

Afghanistan number three Rahmat Shah arrived to the crease within the opening over of the innings following the early dismissal of Ibrahim Zadran for a duck. Thereafter, Rahmat formed identical 50-plus stands with Noor Ali Zadran and Hashmatullah Shahidi for the subsequent two wickets; and firmly guarded one end of the crease to take Afghanistan past the 150-run mark.

However, against the run of play, Shah’s paddle sweep found Sri Lankan stumper Sadeera Samarawickrama after the latter rushed towards the leg slip even before the ball made contact with the bat.

Watch: Sadeera Samarawickrama takes a unique catch

Samarawickrama’s behind-the-stumps agility packed Rahmat Shah’s innings at 91, as Afghanistan slumped to 155-5 in the afternoon session.

Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva put Afghanistan to bat first after winning the toss. The visitors lost opener Ibrahim Zadran for a two-ball duck, while Noor Ali Zadran and visiting skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi failed to capitalize on their confident starts.

Apart from dismissing Rahmat Shah, spinner Prabath Jayasuriya also accounted for the wicket of Nasir Jamal after cleaning up the latter for a duck. Vishwa Fernando struck four times in his spell while Asitha Fernando also chipped in with a wicket as Afghanistan reached 182-7 at one stage of the day.