Kushal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva dashed Afghanistan's hopes to reach the Asia Cup Super Four by beating the Hashmatullah Shahidi-inspired team by two runs in a dramatic way in the 7th match of the tournament at Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.
AFGHANISTAN INNINGS
The match, which was full of twists, tested the patience of the fans, but it was Dhananjaya de Silva who held the nerves and not only stopped Afghanistan from qualifying into the Super Four Stage but also bagged two crucial wickets of Mujeebur Rehman (0) and Fazalhaq Farooqi (0) to power his team to the victory and the next stage of the tournament.
Chasing a target of 292, Afghanistan were put on the back foot straightaway by Kasun Rajitha when both the openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (4) and Ibrahim Zadran (7), could not manage to show resistance.
Gulbadin Naib, who bagged four wickets, was looking good for his 16-ball 22 before he was trapped by Matheesha Pathirana.
But skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi put up a 63-ball, 71-run partnership along with Rahmat Shah (45), but Rajitha picked up another wicket.
After the departure of Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi racked up a 47-ball 80.
Mohammad Nabi played an anchoring role in boosting the morale of Afghanistan and making them believe that they could chase the equation in 37.1 overs, but Sri Lanka just dashed their hopes.
In his blistering 32-ball 65, Nabi clobbered six boundaries and five sixes before he was undone by Theekshana.
Hashmatullah flexed his muscles for 66-ball 59 before he was removed by Wellalage.
Karim Janat also played a cameo, scoring 13-ball 22 and being flummoxed by Wellalage.
However, Rashid Khan, who played a fiery cameo of 16-ball 27, studded with four boundaries and one six, almost took the game away from Sri Lanka and went on to remain unbeaten.
For Sri Lanka, Kasun Rajitha (4-79) spearheaded his side by bagging four wickets. But in his last phase, he was too expensive and finished the spell by conceding four wickets.
Dunith Wellalage (2-36) and Dhananjaya de Silva (2-12) picked up two wickets apiece.
Maheesh Theekshana (1-62) and Matheesha Pathirana (1-63) took a scalp each.
Dasun Shanka remained wicketless and was too expensive in his two overs, conceding 32 runs.
SRI LANKA INNINGS
Earlier in the day, during the scorching heat of Lahore, Sri Lanka opted to bat first and got off to a decent start, scoring 62 in the first powerplay.
It was Gulbadin Naib who put the Sri Lankan batters under pressure. Sri Lanka were 86 for 3, but Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka put together a formidable partnership of 102, paving the way for the team to post a good total of 291/8 against Afghanistan.
In his 84-ball 92, Kusal Mendis smashed six boundaries and three sixes.
Pathum Nissanka (41), Charith Asalanka (36), Dunith Wellalage (33), Dimuth Karunaratne (32) and Maheesh Theekshana (28) showed some resistance with the bat.
Other batters, including skipper Dasun Shanaka (5) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (3), failed to show any fight with the willow.
For Afghanistan, Gulbadin Naib (4-60) bagged four wickets.
Rashid Khan (2-63) took two wickets.
Mujeebur Rehman (1-60) picked up a wicket.
Karim Janat (0-20) and Fazalhaq Farooqi (0-52) remained wicketless.
The hosts, Pakistan, will take on Bangladesh tomorrow in the Super Four match of the Asia Cup at Gaddafi Stadium.
