Sri Lanka scored 241 runs against Afghanistan at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune. Afghanistan chose to bowl first after winning the toss. Afghanistan announced one alteration to their eleven: Fazalhaq Farooqi was named in lieu of Noor Ahmad. However, Sri Lanka altered their starting eleven in two different ways. Kusal Perera and Lahiru Kumara have been replaced by Dimuth Karunaratne and Dushamantha Chameera. Here is a recap of the first innings.
Afghanistan restrict Sri Lankan batters
In the first ten overs, Afghanistan’s Mujeeb ur Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled with remarkable control. Only eighteen runs were lost by Mujeeb and Farooqi in the first five overs. On the opening ball of the sixth over, Dimuth Karunaratne, who was playing in his debut World Cup encounter, hit the first boundary of the game.
Advertisement
Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghan captain, produced a stunning review that resulted in Karunaratne being removed on the next ball. To the unaided eye, the full-length ball from Fazalhaq appeared to be missing its leg stub. Karunaratne struck one four and scored 15 runs off of 21 balls.
In the eighth over, Pathum Nissanka showed his mettle by hitting three consecutive fours to halt the powerplay. Despite losing Karunaratne, Sri Lanka managed to score 41 runs at the end of the powerplay.
Sri Lanka starts to rebuild
Immediately following the powerplay, Azmatullah Omarzai and Naveen ul Haq entered the fray. Both of the pacers bowled with discipline as well, preventing Nissanka and Kusal Mendis from scoring easily. In the course of five overs, Sri Lanka scored 25 runs (11–15).
In the sixteenth over, Rashid Khan, playing in his 100th ODI, entered the attack. Omarzai bowled a costly 10-run over after switching ends. Nissanka and Mendis looked like they might bat for a while as they brought up the 50-run stand in the same over. Omarzai made a spectacular comeback, dismissing Nissanka in the 19th over. Nissanka was caught behind and given out.
Advertisement
After running out of time, the opening hitter attempted to review the call. Nissanka hit five fours and scored 46 runs in 60 balls.
With Sadeera Samarawickrama and Mendis at the crease, Sri Lanka’s batters carried on with great intent after losing a wicket. Samarawcikrama got off to a good start in his innings, scoring his first 30 runs almost at run-a-ball speed. With 42 runs in just six overs (21-26), Mendis and Samarawickrama did not allow the Afghan spinners, Muhammad Nabi and Rashid, to get comfortable with their lines and lengths.
Quick wickets for Afghanistan
Mendis was ejected by Mujeeb just as he was beginning to accelerate and find his rhythm. In the twenty-eighth over of the contest, Mujeeb took his maiden wicket. Mendis was trying to play slog-sweep, but he received a thick edge on top, which made it easy for him to catch at deep mid-wicket. Mendis smashed three fours and scored 39 runs off of 50 balls. When Mujeeb dismissed Samarawickrama in his subsequent over, the game was completely changed. Charith Asalanka convinced Samarawickrama to burn a review while contesting the LBW call. Samarawickrama hit three fours and scored 36 runs off of 40 balls.
Mujeeb finished his allotted ten overs bowling stats of 10-0-38-2. In the 34th over, Rashid returned to the attack and marked his centenary by removing Dhananjaya de Silva in the opening over of his subsequent term. With a wrong’un, Rashid destroyed the Sri Lankan all-rounder. In the 38th over, Rashid handed Sri Lanka five runs from wides and Asalanka scored a four off an outside edge, giving Sri Lanka some much-needed luck.
Their happiness was short-lived, as Asalanka was dismissed by Fazalhaq in the 39th over. Asalanka hit two fours and scored 22 runs in 28 balls. As if taking wickets nonstop wasn’t enough, Sri Lanka attempted an unnecessary runout and gave Afghanistan another wicket.
Sri Lankan batters on top
Sri Lanka lost seven wickets and managed just 185 runs in 40 overs. Returning to the attack, Omarzai bowled a three-run 41st over. On the other side, Rashid conceded just five runs while offering no freebies. In the 43rd over, Maheesh Theekshana hit two fours off Omarzai’s bowling. In the subsequent over, Theekshana struck yet another four as Naveen-ul-Haq returned to the attack.
After bowling out his ten overs, Rashid finished his 100th ODI with 10-0-50-1. Angelo Matthews struck the game’s first six with a back-of-a-length delivery in the 46th over. When Fazalhaq removed Theekshana in the 47th over, the 45-run eighth-wicket stand was broken. Fazalhaq bowling his last over picked up his fourth wicket of the match thanks to a great catch by Nabi.
Advertisement