"It was a childhood dream for me to represent my country"- Pathum Nissanka after becoming first Sri Lankan to hit double century in ODIs

Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka recently expressed gratitude for all the love and appreciation he received following his record-breaking double century in the first ODI against Afghanistan on Friday.

Nissanka broke legendary batter Sanath Jayasuriya's 24-year record for the highest individual ODI score by a Sri Lankan player with his 210*. Jayasuriya previously held it with his 189 against India in Sharjah in 2000. Nissanka also rewrote Kumar Sangakkara's record for the highest ODI score on Sri Lankan soil, bettering his 169 with a double ton.

The cricketing fraternity and fans have showered praise on Pathum Nissanka since his knock yesterday in Colombo. Nissanka took to his X handle and thanked everyone for the greetings and wishes for him with a post.

"Thank you, everyone, for your support and wishes, it was a childhood dream for me to represent my country and what I archived yesterday was beyond that," he wrote.

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Pathum Nissanka's 210* helped Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by 42 runs in the 1st ODI vs Afghanistan

Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bowl first in the contest on a flat surface. Pathum Nissanka played a magnificent knock and helped Sri Lanka score a mammoth total of 381/3. Avishka Fernando (88) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (45) also chipped in with useful contributions.

Afghanistan then slumped to 55/5 in just 8.3 overs into the chase. Azmatullah Omarzai (149*) and Mohammad Nabi (136) tried their best to keep their side in the hunt. However, the target proved to be too much for the duo as Afghanistan eventually could only reach 339/6 in 50 overs.

Reflecting on the hard-fought loss, Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said:

"The decision was due to the dew factor (on opting to bowl first). We were thinking that there would be dew in the second innings. The pitch was a good one to bat in the second innings as well. We gave away a lot of runs. The powerplay overs we were not upto the mark and gave the game to Sri Lanka. We tried to claw our way back but they kept on punishing us."

The two teams will square off in the second ODI of the three-match series on Sunday, February 11.