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Afghanistan got the better of Sri Lanka in their 2023 World Cup clash in Pune on Monday, as they clinched their third win of the tournament.
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After having bowled out Sri Lanka for 241, the top four batters barring Rahmanullah Gurbaz, made light work of the chase, clinching the win with seven wickets and 28 balls to spare.
Rahmat Shah, skipper Hasmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai all scored fifties, while Ibrahim Zadran (39) also chipped in with valuable runs.
There were a few key moments that helped Afghanistan seal the win, and remain in the battle for the semi-finals.
Let’s now take a look at some of them:
Pathum Nissanka’s confident knock, but falls short of fifty
Opener Pathum Nissanka has been a man in form for Sri Lanka. The 25-year-old had already scored four consecutive fifties coming into this match, including an unbeaten 77 against England.
However, despite a confident knock, it wasn’t meant to be as he was dismissed for just 46 runs, getting caught by wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz off Omarzai’s delivery.
Nissanka, however, had got off to a rather slow start on Monday, dealing with only singles until the eighth over, when he punched through the covers for a boundary off Fazalhaq Farooqi’s ball.
Nissanka would then go onto collect a boundary in each of the next three overs, but against the pace of Azmatullah, he found the going tough, before being dismissed in the 19th over.
Yet, this start was crucial for the Lankans and went a long way in helping them post 241.
Fazalhaq Farooqi stands out
Fazalhaq Farooqi stood out among the rest, returning with impressive figures of 4/34.
Early on in the Lankan innings, Farooqi set the ball rolling with the LBW dismissal of Dimuth Karunaratne.
He would then go onto later rip apart the Lankan batting hopefuls, with the dismissals of Charith Asalanka (22), Msheesh Theekshana (29) and Angelo Mathews (23), leaving Sri Lanka in tatters at 239/9.
For his best figures of the World Cup so far, Fazalhaq would go onto win the Player of the Match award.
Mathews-Theekshana stand
Sri Lanka were in need of a crucial partnership after the dismissal of Dushmantha Chameera in the 40th over. The Lankans were 185/7 and even 200 looked a distant dream at that moment.
However, the experienced Angelo Mathews and Maheesh Theekshana led the fightback, with a 45-run stand for the eighth wicket.
Among the two, Theekshana was more aggressive in his approach, having amassed three fours, and a six over deep midwicket off Farooqi’s ball.
Although Sri Lanka’s hopes of a challenging total was short-lived, it was fun while it lasted, more so to witness Theekshana’s aggressive approach.
Dream start for Sri Lanka
Looking to defend 241, Sri Lanka could not have asked for a better start. Dilshan Madushanka was introduced into the attack, and struck Rahmanullah Gurbaz only in the fourth over.
It was a full, inswinging ball from Madushanka, and Gurbaz went for the flick, but played the wrong line, as the ball dismantled the middle stump.
However, things would then go awry for Sri Lanka, with Ibrahim and Rahmat Shah putting on 73 runs for the second wicket, thereby setting the platform for victory.
Hashmat-Azmat stand
They say catches win you matches. But, that may not be the case all the time. What worked for Afghanistan on Monday was an unbeaten 111-run stand between captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai for the fourth wicket.
It was an entertaining stand, one where Azmatullah used the entire ground to smash boundaries all over the stadium.
In the 35th over, Azmatullah would clear deep midwicket for a six off Theekshana’s ball with a remarkable pull shot, before taking on Chameera in the next over, hitting over deep third for another maximum.
He would then go onto do the same on a regular basis, as he got to his fifty in the 43rd over with a single off Kasun Rajitha.
Azmatullag would then go onto hit Afghanistan’s winning run, with a single after a slog towards the deep, where Asalanka was there but just couldn’t get hold of the catch.
That was indeed, a remarkable win for Afghanistan, who have looked promising than ever before in this World Cup.
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