T20 World Cup 2022, Gr 1, SL v AFG: Hasaranga 3-fer, Dhananjaya 66* keep Lankan hopes alive
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, Super 12, Group 1, Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan: Wanindu Hasaranga's 3-13, Dhananjaya de Silva's 1-9 & 66 and Rashid Khan's 2-31 are top performances as Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets. Sri Lanka move to third place in Group 1 points table.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 148/4 (De Silva 66*, Mendis 25, Mujeeb 2/24) beat Afghanistan 144/8 (Gurbaz 28, Ghani 27, Hasaranga 3/13) by six wickets
Player of the Match: Wanindu Hasaranga (3/13)
Unlucky Afghanistan who after an opening defeat against England faced two back-to-back washouts due to rain. took on Sri Lanka, who after an opening victory against Ireland lost successive games against Australia and New Zealand. The 11th Group 1 game of the Super 12 stage of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 was held at the Gabba in Brisbane.
In their three face-offs in this format, Sri Lanka have tasted two victories while Afghanistan have won just one game.
All-round Sri Lanka thrash sleeping Afghanistan
Sri Lanka bowlers, after a bad start, came back strong in the game as their spinners made life difficult for Afghanistan. Even when they were put under pressure with the bat in the early stage of the game, they showed positive impact thanks to their all-rounders, especially Dhananjaya de Silva.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, were sloppy with the bat being unable to put partnerships with the bat even after keeping Sri Lanka under a little bit of pressure and failed to deliver when it mattered. Their T20 World Cup 2022 has ended early than their fans would have liked.
Read More: T20 World Cup 2022, Gr 1, NZ vs SL: Phillips 104, Boult 4-13 help New Zealand maintain pole position
Sri Lanka earn crucial victory to keep themselves alive
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi on winning the toss opted to bat under cloudy conditions. Sri Lanka included Pramod Madushan in place of Chamika Karunaratne while Afghanistan installed Gulbadin Naib replacing injured Hazratullah Zazai.
Afghanistan built a decent 42-run opening partnership in the powerplay before Sri Lanka made a good return in the game to reduce Sri Lanka to 68/1 in 10 overs. Afghanistan kept on losing wickets as Sri Lanka spinners went on to control the game. With a few handsome blows at the back end, Afghanistan made their way to 144/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Chasing an average total of 145, Sri Lanka lost Pathum Nissanka (10) early and Kusal Mendis (25) a little later t