Afghanistan’s dream run in the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023 continued as they convincingly defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets on the back of an impressive allround performance in Pune. Sri Lanka was bowled out for 241 runs inside the 50 overs thanks to some impressive spells from Fazalhaq Farooqi, which Afghanistan chased down on the back of half-centuries from Rahmat Shah, Azamatullah Omarzai, and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi with almost 5 overs to spare and making a strong case for them in the future.
The defeat has virtually ended Sri Lanka’s hopes, with them having to win all of their remaining matches against India, Bangladesh, and New Zealand to keep even-the-minute hopes alive. Sri Lankan batters showed no intent during they batting and could not capitalize on the starts they got, often seeming clueless in a batting paradise, the bowlers were no different as they failed to capitalize on the momentum after every wicket fell.
Afghanistan put Sri Lanka into bat after winning the toss and decided to introduce spin from one end straightaway, as Mujeeb Ur Rahman opened the bowling. The Sri Lankan openers were kept quiet for the most part, soon Dimuth Karunarathne fell to an incoming delivery from Fazalhaq Farooqi where the on-field call was overturned by DRS. Skipper Kusal Mendis joined Pathum Nissanka in the crease, hoping to overcome his lean patch in the World Cup so far. The pair stitched a 50-partnership before Nissanka was deceived by the bounce on a delivery by Azmatullah Omarzai, missing his 5th consecutive half-century.
Another 50-partnership between Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama instilled hopes of stability, but a failed slog from Kusal Mendis was caught in the deep yet again. The lack of intent from the Sri Lankan batters was puzzling, as the pitch was quoted to a ‘paradise for batters’ before the toss. Samarawickrama followed his skipper soon enough, who was trapped in front of the stumps by Mujeeb, who had his second wicket in two overs.
A mini middle-order collapse saw Sri Lanka go from 134-2 to 185-7 in the 40th over, with Afghanistan wresting their advantage in the game with wickets in regular intervals. Small cameos from Angelo Mathews and Mahesh Theekshana took Sri Lanka to a respectable 241. On a surface that had plenty of assistance for batters, and against an Afghanistan batting lineup that had proved themselves earlier in the tournament, it seemed like a sorry score.
Dilshan Madushanka gave Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope by uprooting Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s middle stump in the very first over to a perfect delivery that swung in. However, Afghanistan showed something Sri Lanka hadn’t – intent. Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah took good advantage of the powerplay playing some explosive shots despite a slow start. Madhusanka came back to dismiss Ibrahim Zadran, but a trio of fifties from Rahmat Shah, Asmatullah Omarzai, and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi took Afghanistan home without breaking a sweat.
Rahmat Shah and Hasmatullah Shahidi stitched a partnership of 58 runs for the third wicket before Rahmat Shah was dismissed in the 28th over. Omarzai came to haunt Sri Lanka with the bat as well, scoring an unbeaten 73 off 63 deliveries in an unbeaten partnership of 111 with skipper Shahidi.
Afghanistan’s third win in the tournament helped them leapfrog into the 5th spot in the points table, ahead of three former world champions, keeping their semi finals hopes alive.
It was a very professional performance from the bowlers today. All the coaching and managing staff are working hard and giving us confidence. Especially Jonathan (Trott) he is always positive, before the Pakistan game he told me one word and that changed my mindset a lot – Hashmatullah Shahidi
Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi was speaking at the post-match presentation and complimented his team for their performance in all 3 departments. He had special words for their coaching staff namely head coach Jonathan Trott for instilling a sense of confidence in him and guiding the team forward.
“As a captain, you should lead from the front and that’s what I am trying to do, I will try to maintain that in the rest of the tournament. Rashid Khan is a special player and the best player in the world,” said Hashmatullah Shahidi.
“He (Rashid Khan) is a very energetic guy and always keeps the team very lively. I want to congratulate all the Afghanistan supporters and especially want to thank the Indian fans for coming out and supporting us” he added.
Afghanistan next plays the Netherlands in Lucknow, while Sri Lanka plays a rematch of the 2011 World Cup finals against India at the Wankhede in Mumbai.