Afghanistan, batting second, lost Ibrahim Zadran (39), Rahmanullah Gurbaz for DUCK in the first over, and Rahmat Shah (62), the captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (58*), and Azmatullah Omarzai (73*) played a memorable knock. Their team won by 7 wickets as a result of this.
Dilshan Madushanka claimed two wickets for Sri Lanka, while Kasun Rajitha claimed one wicket.
In their World Cup match against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka lost all of their wickets at 242 and finished with a below-average 241 all out.
Pathum Nissanka (46), Kusal Mendis (39), and Sadeera Samarawickrama (36), who were invited to bat, all got off to starts but were unable to capitalize as Afghan bowlers were able to take wickets on a regular basis.
With four wickets taken, Fazalhaq Farooqi (4/34) became Afghanistan's most successful bowler. Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/38), Azmatullah Omarzai (1/37) and Rashid Khan (1/50) were among the crucial wickets, demonstrating the team's unity.
But Maheesh Theekshana (29) and Angelo Mathews (23) gave them the late momentum with a crucial 45 off 42 balls for the eighth wicket.
Pathum Nissanka, the opening batsman for Sri Lanka, ended his remarkable streak of consecutive World Cup fifties on Monday in Pune when he was out for 46 against Afghanistan. When he was caught behind trying to cut Afghanistan pacer Azmatullah Omarzai to end a 60-ball innings that included five fours, Nissanka was on the verge of his fifth half-century in six games this tournament.
After losing the toss, his departure left Sri Lanka 84-2 in the 19th over.
Before posting scores of 51 against Pakistan, 61 against Australia, 54 against the Netherlands, and 77 not out against England, the 25-year-old Nissanka began the tournament as a duck against South Africa.
Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, with just four points from their five matches, have little chance of making it to the tournament's semifinals. But because of a higher run rate, Sri Lanka is currently fifth on the points table, and Afghanistan is only slightly lower in 6th place.
Afghanistan will have immense confidence following their crushing victory over Pakistan, their neighbor. Although Afghanistan's spinners, who have been a key component of the team's success, were once again in excellent form in their most recent match, the Aghan batsmen unexpectedly managed to chase down the 283-run target with eight wickets remaining.
Ahead of them, the Sri Lankans will also be full of confidence following their decisive victory over the current world champions in their previous game. The previous game saw the Lankan bowling attack, which has a history of giving up excessive numbers of runs in matches, hold the English batsmen at bay primarily because of a superb bowling effort from pacer Lahiru Kumara.
Afghanistan vs. Sri Lanka: Head-to-head records
There have been 11 ODIs between these two teams thus far. Of those, Afghanistan has won three and Sri Lanka seven. A single match yielded no outcomes. When these two last faced off, in September 2023, Sri Lanka won by a score of two runs over Afghanistan.
Sri Lanka has defeated its opponent in both of their World Cup encounters. Sri Lanka triumphed by 34 runs (DLS) in 2019. Prior to that, Sri Lanka defeated them by 4 wickets in 2015. Not to mention, over the past few years, both of these teams have undergone significant change.
Highlights of Afghanistan vs. Sri Lanka
Lankan Baseball:
Karunaratne turned to leave with a score of 22 to 1.
Azmat Omarzai, a pacer, secured Nissanka's highly valued wicket.
Mendis and Samarawickrama, who entered at the end of Nissanka, were closely monitored because Afghanistan spinners were being drawn in from both ends.
Mendis attempted a big shot, but Najibullah Zadran caught him off Mujeeb for 39 at deep midwicket.
With the opening ball of the thirtyth over, Mujeeb struck once more, dismissing the dangerous Samarawickrama for 36, bringing the Islanders down to 139 for 4.
With the opening ball of the thirtyth over, Mujeeb struck once more, dismissing the dangerous Samarawickrama for 36, bringing the Islanders down to 139 for 4.
A ball that drifted in sharply and trapped Samarawickrama plumb in front of him confused the century-maker against Pakistan, who has had an incredible World Cup thus far.
The Lankan innings collapsed quickly as wickets fell at regular intervals and players Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Dushmantha Chameera failed to contribute to a meaningful innings.
Batting in Afghanistan:
Afghanistan lost their first wicket, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, for a duck in the fourth delivery of the opening over, as they attempted to chase a target of 242 runs.
Afghanistan finished with 111 runs in 50 balls during 9.6 overs.
In 56 balls, Rahmat Shah (20) and Ibrahim Zadran (28) will make their second wicket partnership of 50 runs.
Kusal Mendis brings Madushanka back into the attack and he delivers, removing Ibrahim in the fifth delivery of the seventeenth over.
In 61 balls, Rahmat Shah reaches his 25th half-century.
On the final delivery of the 28th over, Kasun Rajitha, who is still on the attack, removes Rahmat Shah (62).
150 runs were scored by Afghanistan in 32.1 overs (193 balls).
Afghanistan and in 39.5 overs (239 balls) score 200 runs.
Hashmatullah Shahidi, the captain of Afghanistan, reaches his 18th half-century in 67 balls.
After 50 balls, Azmatullah Omarzai reaches his third half-century in an ODI.
Hashmatullah Shahidi, an Afghanistani batsman, reaches 2000 runs in an ODI.
With a partnership of 111 runs between Omarzai and Shahidi, Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets. In 93 balls, the partnership for 100 runs was achieved.
After taking four wickets, Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi was named "Player of the Match."
Lead by Omarzai and Shahidi, AFG defeats SL by 7 wickets.
Live: Afghanistan vs. Sri Lanka Mendis went back to attacking with Dushmantha Chameera with two runs needed for Afghanistan to win. With 28 balls left, Omarzai and Shahidi lead AFG to a 7-wicket victory over SL.
In 30 balls, AFG needs two runs to win.
Afghanistan vs. Sri Lanka Live: The Sri Lankan captain brought Kasun Rajitha into attack when Afghanistan only needed 10 runs. In an attempt to wrap things up quickly, Azmatullah Omarzai smashes a FOUR on the fourth delivery. Afghanistan needs two runs in the final 30 overs to win after scoring 240/3 in 45 overs.
Player of the Match: Fazalhaq Farooqi (translated by Rashid Khan): Thank you to God Almighty! It was nice to win three times in the tournament and I'm glad I could help the team win. With the new ball, I was trying to get swing, but I wasn't getting it, so I just kept it simple, hit the right spots, and refused to give up boundaries, which is how I was successful. We put in the hard yards in the nets, bowled with accuracy and tried as many variations as we could, but we conceded too many runs in the last few overs (in the previous matches). During today's match, we performed precisely that.
Kusal Mendis | Captain of Sri Lanka: We could have done more with the bat. Maybe 280 or 300 would have been enough, but it wasn't to be. After bowlers performed admirably in the first ten overs, a small amount of dew settled in, making it more difficult to bowl the spinners. In fact, there was dew today, and in the second innings, the ball hit the bat nicely. Madushanka has performed admirably in the first few games as well, and it is to be hoped that he will maintain this level of play moving forward.
Afghanistan's captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi: Very content and pleased with the group. We are pleased with how we did in each of the three departments. We gained a lot of confidence and belief from the previous game that we can pursue any kind of target. The bowlers gave a really polished performance today. We are given confidence by the hard work and dedication of the coaching and managing staff. Particularly Jonathan (Trott), who is constantly upbeat. Before the Pakistan game, he said one thing to me that really altered the way I thought. I'm attempting to lead from the front as a captain, and I plan to keep doing so for the duration of the competition. Rashid Khan is the world's greatest player and a unique talent. Rashid Khan is a highly vivacious individual who consistently infuses the team with energy. I want to thank the Indian fans for coming out and supporting us, and I also want to congratulate all of the Afghan supporters.
Afghanistan had only won once in their previous two World Cups; now, they have three wins in six matches. They stand a good chance of advancing to the semifinals if they can win two of their final three games. Their bowling garnered most of the attention for many years, but these days it's their batting. Unmistakably the work of a team that has gone above and beyond to cover every possible detail. Afghanistan's ascent to prominence in international cricket should serve as a powerful inspiration for all of its associate countries to aim high and achieve great things in the world. You would think that the Netherlands would also have some happy memories to share. But folks, the World Cup narrative just got more fascinating. The going will get harder and harder for those who live at the bottom. Tomorrow, Pakistan and Bangladesh square off at Eden Gardens, with the losing team potentially getting closer to the exit. Please keep an ear out for that. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed playing this game
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