Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan Match Summary | Cricket World Cup 2019
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan Match Summary: Sri Lanka denied Afghanistan their first win in the world cup over a full-member nation as the former bundle out Gulbadin and Co. for just 152 to win the match by 34 runs on Tuesday.
Afghanistan won a good toss but the bowlers upfront failed to give their side a good start with Hamid Hassan conceding 31 runs in his first two overs.
As compared to their last match against Australia, Sri Lanka played with intent today as the openers in the form of Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera gave their side an ideal start. The duo stitched 92-run stand for the first wicket before skipper Dimuth got out off Nabi in the fourteenth over after making well-made 40 off 45 balls. However, the star player for Sri Lanka was indeed Kusal Perera who scored as many as eight boundaries in his 78-run knock off 81 balls.
Parera along with Thirimanne were cruising till the 20th over as Sri Lanka were on course to post 300 plus total on Tuesday. However, come the Nabi storm and in the space of 2 overs, Sri Lanka lost 4 wickets with three coming in Nabi’s over only. The Afghanistan all-rounder turned the game on its head as Sri Lanka’s train derailed in the space of just six balls. Nabi accounted for the wickets of Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, and Angelo Mathews in just one over only bring Afghanistan back in the contest.
Sri Lanka ended up scoring 201 in 37 overs. Afghanistan’s best spinner, Rashid Khan performed a much better performance as compared to the last match, claiming two wickets for 17 in 8 overs.
Chasing a target of 187 (DLS Method), Afghanistan lacked composure and ability in their batting line up to tackle a Malinga lead bowling line up. In pursuit of 187, Sri Lanka made sure they keep taking wickets in regular intervals to dent Afghanistan’s batting line up.
Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Pradeep fired on all cylinders on Monday, as he claimed his career-best figures of 4 for 31 in nine over to help Sri Lanka win the match by 34 runs only to earn first win in the World Cup.
The early dent came in the form of Mohammad Shahzad who became Sri Lanka’s first victim, followed by Rahmat Shah and Hazratullah Zazai inside 9 overs. Experienced batsman Mohammad Nabi also didn’t last long as Afghanistan were reeling at 57-5 in 14 overs. Skipper Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran did bring their team back into the game but not for too long. The duo stitched 64-run partnership off 67 deliveries before skipper Naib lost his wicket on 23 in the 25th over off Pradeep only to see his team bundle out on just 152 in 32.4 overs in the end.
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