On the back of a glorious half-century from Dhananjaya de Silva and an excellent spell from Wanindu Hasaranga, Sri Lanka not only thumped Afghanistan by six wickets but also knocked Mohammad Nabi's men out of the T20 World Cup. The Islanders kept their semi-final dreams alive after the emphatic win but their progress to the knockouts will also depend on other results in Group 1. Nonetheless, the 2022 Asian champions took care of business on November 01 (Tuesday) and lived to fight another day.
Chasing a modest target of 145 runs, Sri Lanka were rocked early after Pathum Nissanka (10 runs off 10 balls) departed on the last ball of the second over. Dhananjaya de Silva walked out at number three and joined forces with Kusal Mendis and steadied the ship before the latter departed after scoring 25 runs off 27 balls.
Charith Asalanka (19 runs off 18 balls) and de Silva registered a 54-run stand for the third wicket which more or less put Sri Lanka on the way towards the finish line. The right-handed de Silva played outstanding shits during his unbeaten knock of 66 runs off 42 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes as Sri Lanka gunned down the target with nine balls to spare.
Earlier, Afghanistan could not find the final flourish and ended up with an underwhelming score of 144/8. While the Afghans were able to stitch a few partnerships at the top, Sri Lanka did well to strike at regular intervals. Leg spinner Hasaranga (3/13) picked up three wickets while pacer Lahiru Kumara (2/30) accounted for two batters.
The ball swung in the opening two overs but after that the Sri Lankan bowlers struggled to get their lengths right as Rahmanullah Gurbaz (28) donned the role of the aggressor.
However, right after the powerplay, Kumara fashioned the first breakthrough for the Sri Lankans. Gurbaz looked to go big but there was just enough movement as the ball traversed the gap between the bat and pad to crash into the stumps.
The spinners were then able to slow down the proceedings after the wicket.
