Sri Lankan cricketer Pavan Rathnayake made his international debut through his first ODI match against England at R. Premadasa Stadium. The 23-year-old batsman demonstrated exceptional maturity during his chase of 358 runs by scoring 121 runs at the match. 

Young batter stands tall after early collapse

Sri Lanka faced a challenging start to their innings after Harry Brook and Joe Root scored centuries which set a massive target for them. Rathnayake walked in with the game slipping away but responded with calm intent, rebuilding the innings through the middle overs. He used intelligent methods to change the batting order while he selected specific times to make aggressive plays which kept his team from falling behind their target. 

Rathnayake reached his century mark during the 43rd over when he scored his first run which made him smile with happiness for this special moment that happened in his fourth ODI match. His century came off 104 balls and stood out for its maturity rather than reckless strokeplay.

ALSO SEE: Watch: Harry Brook mimics Stone Cold Steve Austin celebration after century in SL vs ENG 3rd ODI

Who is Pavan Rathnayake?

Rathnayake is a batter who uses his left hand for batting while he demonstrates bowling skills through his ability to bowl both off-break and leg-break deliveries. The player had scored a total of 73 runs from three One Day International matches before this match but his domestic List A statistics showed that he possessed greater batting potential. The player achieved his seventh One Day International century with this performance which resulted in him crossing 2.600 List A career runs.

The young batsman stood out as the top performer for Sri Lanka despite the team being bowled out for 304 and Rathnayake getting out to Sam Curran while England won the match by 53 runs. His performance under difficult circumstances demonstrated his ability to succeed in future endeavors while he showed potential to become a regular player for Sri Lankas One Day International team.