The T20 World Cup 2026 witnessed a powerful and record-breaking show at the Pallekele International Stadium on February 12 as Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka played one of the most explosive knocks in the tournament’s history against Oman in a Group B match.
Dasun Shanaka’s 19-ball fifty lights up T20 World Cup 2026, and creates history
Dasun Shanaka came to bat in the final overs when Sri Lanka was already building towards a big score. The captain did not waste any time settling down and attacked from the first ball and completely destroyed Oman’s bowling in the death overs.
He targeted Oman’s Jiten Ramanandi, Nadeem Khan, and Sufyan Mehmood in a heavy attack. Shanaka used powerful lofted drives and strong sweeps to clear the boundary, and the fielders could only watch. Shanaka reached his half-century in just 19 balls.
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With this mind-blowing effort, Shanaka has smashed the fastest fifty by a Sri Lankan in T20 World Cup history. He shattered the iconic and longstanding record of legendary Mahela Jayawardene, who had scored a 21-ball fifty in the 2007 T20 World Cup against Kenya, in style.
Dasun Shanaka equals Rohit Sharma’s captaincy record
By reaching fifty in 19 balls, Dasun Shanaka also equaled the record for the fastest fifty by a captain in T20 World Cup history. He equaled Rohit Sharma’s record. The former Indian captain had achieved this feat against Australia in 2024 when he led the side to their second T20 World Cup title.
However, Shanaka’s innings ended in the 19th over when he was caught at long-off by Nadeem Khan. He walked back to the pavilion for 50 runs from 20 balls, hitting 4 fours and 5 massive sixes. Shanaka already holds the record for the fastest T20I fifty for Sri Lanka.
He had smashed a 20-ball half-century against India in Pune in 2023. This innings was also important for Shanaka personally. Before the ongoing T20 World Cup, he was facing criticism because of some low scores. Many people were questioning his form and captaincy.
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But on this big stage, he gave a strong answer with his bat. Even though the Sri Lankan skipper missed out on a bigger score, his job was already done. His explosive knock pushed Sri Lanka to a huge total of 225 for 5 in their 20 overs in the ongoing Group B clash.
Sri Lanka post 225 despite early LBW shocks
Earlier, Pathum Nissanka (13) and Kamil Mishara (8) were both out LBW early. Kusal Mendis played a brilliant knock of 61 but was run out, while Pavan Ratnayake scored 60 before being bowled by Jiten Ramanandi. Dasun Shanaka was also stunning.
At the end, Kamindu Mendis (19*) and Dunith Wellalage (6*) also made important contributions to the massive total. For Oman, Jiten scalped 2 wickets, while Sufyan Mehmood and Jay Odedra claimed one each. Sri Lanka also added 8 extra runs in the match.
Shanaka has played 126 T20I matches so far and scored 1,797 runs. The Sri Lankan all-rounder has hit seven half-centuries in T20Is so far. He is also one of only five players to score more than 1,500 runs for Sri Lanka in the format. Overall, in T20s, Shanaka is close to reaching 6,000 runs.
