Sri Lanka medium pacer Ashita Fernando picked up a 10-wicket haul to help his side clinch victory in the second Test over Bangladesh and seal the series.
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Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by 10 wickets in the second Test at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka on Friday to clinch the match and seal the two-match series by a 1-0 margin. The architects of the win for the visitors were veteran batters Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal who notched up a century each and medium-pacer Ashita Fernando who returned a 10-wicket haul. His brilliance also helped him establish himself as a new-ball bowler alongside Kasun Rajitha for Sri Lanka. And it took him only five Tests to well and truly announce him to international cricket.
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Fernando was one of the lead bowlers for Sri Lanka U-19 team at the 2016 World Cup. He was pivotal to help the island nation reach the semi-finals with his 11-wicket haul at an average of 16.45. He recorded a four-fer, which was his best bowling figure in the junior marquee tournament, against eventual finalist India. He was on the radar of Sri Lankan selectors since then and was picked up for the Test series against Australia in 2016. However, he was only warming the bench in that series before he got his ODI debut next year against Zimbabwe.
Fernando might be a fierce competitor on the field but he also has a big heart. A testament to that track back to one of his stories in 2017 when he gifted a Jamaican net bowler his pair of bowling shoes during a practice session. He was appearing for Sri Lanka ‘A’ side then and noticed that the fast bowler was struggling with his landing with his rubber shoes. “As ambassadors of the country, guess to make their mark off the field is equally important as on the field.” Sri Lanka Cricket ‘A’ team manager Charith Senanayake posted on his personal Facebook account.
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