The 2026 T20 World Cup featured a stunning, record-breaking performance at the Pallekele International Stadium on February 12 as Sri Lanka captain Dasan Shanaka produced one of the most explosive knocks in World Cup history against Oman in the Group B match.

Dasan Shanaka lights up 2026 T20 World Cup with 19-ball fifty and creates history

Dasun Shanaka batted in the final over when Sri Lanka was ready to score. The captain wasted no time and attacked from the very first ball, completely destroying Oman’s bowling in the death over.

He took a swipe at Oman’s Jiten Ramanandi, Nadeem Khan and Sufyan Mahmood. Shanaka hit the boundary with a powerful toss and a powerful sweep as the fielders could only watch. Shanaka reached his half-century in just 19 balls.

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With this stunning effort, Shanaka broke the fastest 50-second mark by a Sri Lankan player in the history of the T20 World Cup. He broke the iconic long-standing record of the legendary Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 21 balls and 50 runs in the 2007 T20 World Cup against Kenya.

Dasun Shanaka equals Rohit Sharma’s captaincy record

Dasan Shanaka scored 50 goals from 19 balls, which also equaled the record of fastest 50 goals by a captain in the history of T20 World Cup. He equaled Rohit Sharma’s record. The former India captain achieved this feat against Australia in 2024 when he led the team to their second T20 World Cup title.

However, Shanaka’s innings ended in the 19th over when he was caught by Nadeem Khan at long-on. He walked back to the venue and scored 50 runs off 20 balls, hitting 4 fours and 5 big sixes. Shanaka already holds the record for fastest fifty in Sri Lanka’s T20Is.

In 2023, he scored a 20-ball half-century against India in Pune. This game is also very important for Shanaka personally. Ahead of the ongoing T20 World Cup, he was criticized for some low scores. Many questioned his form and captaincy.

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But on the big stage, he gave a powerful answer with the bat. Even though the Sri Lanka captain missed out on a bigger score, his job was accomplished. In the ongoing Group B match, his explosive knocks helped Sri Lanka post 225 for 5 in 20 overs.

Sri Lanka breach 225 despite early underwhelming shock

Earlier, Pathum Nissanka (13) and Kamil Mishara (8) both crashed out early. Kusal Mendis scored a brilliant 61 but was dismissed while Pavan Ratnayake scored 60 before being bowled by Jiten Ramanandi. Dasun Shanaka is also amazing.

Finally, Kamindu Mendis (19*) and Dunith Wellalage (6*) also made important contributions to this massive total. For Oman, Jiten grabbed 2 wickets while Sufyan Mehmood and Jay Odedra took one each. Sri Lanka also scored an additional 8 points in the match.

Shanaka has played 126 T20I matches so far and scored 1,797 runs. The Sri Lankan all-rounder has scored seven half-centuries in T20Is so far. He is also one of only five Sri Lankan players to score more than 1,500 runs in the tournament. Overall, Shanaka has close to 6,000 runs in T20s.