ISLAMABAD: In the 30th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Afghanistan secured a convincing seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka while chasing a target of 242 runs.
Azmatullah Omarzai played an exceptional innings, remaining unbeaten with 73 runs off 63 balls, and the team’s captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, contributed an unbeaten 58 runs off 74 balls as Afghanistan successfully reached a total of 242/3 in 45.2 overs.
Ibrahim Zadran was dismissed by Madushanka for 39 runs off 57 balls, while Rahmat Shah lost his wicket to Rajitha after scoring 62 runs off 74 balls. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, unfortunately, was out for a duck, bowled by Madushanka.
Fazalhaq Farooqi was recognized as the Player of the Match for his impressive bowling figures of 4/34.
This victory propelled Afghanistan to the 5th position on the tournament’s points table, surpassing Sri Lanka and Pakistan. This marked their third win in six matches of the competition.
Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bowl first, a decision that proved to be effective.
Farooqi consistently took wickets throughout the innings, and off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman played a pivotal role in maintaining pressure, finishing with figures of 2/38 in his allotted 10 overs.
Sri Lanka’s opener, Pathum Nissanka, showed promise with a score of 46 runs, but none of the other batsmen managed to match the contribution of skipper Kusal Mendis, who scored 39 runs.
In their quest for a third victory against a World Cup-winning team in this edition, Afghanistan, who had previously defeated reigning champions England and 1992 titlists Pakistan, won the toss, thanks to their captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi.
The match began with Farooqi dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne, who was declared lbw after a review, having scored just 15 runs.
Nissanka, coming off an impressive unbeaten 77 against England, was on the verge of achieving his fifth half-century in six innings during this World Cup. However, his innings was cut short at 46 runs when he was caught behind while attempting a cut shot against fast bowler Azmatullah Omarzai. His innings comprised 60 deliveries and included five fours.
Nissanka’s dismissal signaled the end of a 62-run partnership, and Sri Lanka’s score was 84-2 by the 19th over.
Mujeeb made a significant impact by taking wickets in successive overs, leaving the 1996 World Cup champions in a precarious position with four wickets down.
Mendis made an unfortunate error by sweeping Mujeeb straight into the hands of the deep square leg fielder after spending 50 balls on his way to 39 runs.
Sri Lanka’s score of 134-3 quickly deteriorated to 139-4 when Mujeeb had Sadeera Samarawickrama dismissed lbw for 36.
In his 100th one-day international, star leg-spinner Rashid Khan showcased his expertise by clean bowling Dhananjaya de Silva with a superb googly, completely deceiving the batsman.
Tailender Maheesh Theekshana contributed with a valuable 29 runs before being expertly yorked by Farooqi, who also dismissed Angelo Mathews. Mathews was caught in the deep by Afghanistan’s veteran Mohammad Nabi after scoring 23 runs.
Sri Lanka’s last seven wickets fell for just 57 runs, and they were all out for 241 in 49.3 overs.
