In the ongoing Asia Cup 2023, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan clashed in a match at the iconic cricket stadium of Lahore, Pakistan. Sri Lanka took a stunning victory over the Afghanistan team, and Kusal Mendis was the primary performer for the winning team. Kusal Mendis also emerged as the man of the match, and on that note, he feels he did his job for his team.
In the thundering match, The Sri Lankan team went into bat first on a pitch that was nice to bat on, and their openers started nicely for their team. The openers were on top of their game and added a beautiful partnership between them, creating a platform for the rest of the batter to fire.
After losing two quick wickets, another good stand between Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka helped Sri Lanka steady their inning, but the bowling team was also picking wickets at the right times, but the number three was like a rock at the other end. The handy innings by the bowlers helped their team reach a winning total.
In reply, Afghanistan lost both the openers early in the inning and their number three as well, but Afghanistan’s two most dependable and compact batsmen Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah started their show to get their team on track.
But the partnership was broken by Kasun Rajitha, and then the firey inning of Mohammad Nabi, 65 in just 32 balls, turned the game completely. His partnership with his skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi, was fantastic, as they were almost on the gate of victory. After losing both the wickets, all the hopes were on Rashid Khan, who remained not out of 27 of 16 balls, and Sri Lanka won the thrilling match just by 2 runs.
There was good fielding and catching- Kusal Mendis
During the post match presentation, Kusal Mendis was quite delighted after winning the player of the match award against Afghanistan. Kusal Mendis pointed out that there was hardly anything in it for the bowlers in the pitch.
“I batted really well in the first ten overs and in the middle overs. I did my best for my team. There was a bit of pressure. The pitch was so good that it was hardly something helpful for the bowlers; only four fielders were out. There was good fielding and catching, which is why I think we won.”