CWC 2019: AFG vs SL Review – Spirited Sri Lankans overcome gutsy Afghans
Sri Lanka bagged their opening points of the 2019 World Cup with their seam bowlers putting up a show. Nuwan Pradeep (4/31) and Lasith Malinga (3/39) troubled the Afghani batsmen and sealed a 34-run victory at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Both the teams had lost their opening game. With this win today, Sri Lanka is off the mark while Afghanistan’s wait for the points continues.
Inserted to bat first, Sri Lanka started tremendously well and was all set to post a mammoth total. Afghanistan triggered a sensational collapse and gained a foothold in the game. For a while, rain ruled the roost. But post resumption, Sri Lankan seamers owned the match, despite the breezy start provided by Hazratullah Zazai. In the end, Afghanistan fell short by 34 runs. Here’s the brief outline of this exciting story.
Sri Lanka start confidently
In their previous match on the same track against New Zealand, Sri Lanka was shot out for only 136. Today the openers, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera, were in a different mood. Perera (78 off 81 balls) launched an early attack and stormed to an aggressive start. Lankans lost Karunaratne with the score 92 but Thirimanne supported Perera until the team reached 144/1.
57/9 – a stunning collapse
With the total of 300 certain on the scoreboard, Sri Lanka pressed the self-destruct button as they lost four wickets in just ten balls. Three of them belonged to the off-spinner Mohammad Nabi. He first forced Thirimanne to undercut onto his own stumps and then dismissed Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews in the same over. Both batsmen edged to Rahmat Shah standing at the first slip.
Rain plays spoilsport
Jolted by the quick fall of wickets, Sri Lanka laboured to 182/8 in 32 overs. The heavens opened up soon and the rain made its first appearance at the World Cup. The play was halted for around three hours. On resumption, the match was reduced to 41 overs per side. The Islanders were dismissed for 201 after being 144/1 at one stage. The adjusted target for the Afghans was set to 187 from 41 overs. Nabi with 4/30 from his nine overs was the leading wicket-taker for Afghanistan.
Sri Lanka applies the stranglehold
Hazratullah Zazai 30(25) provided a blazing start for the chasing side. He smashed Lakmal for a six and a four. Zazai did not spare Malinga as well. But the white-ball stalwart struck back with the wicket of Shahzad. Nuwan Pradeep and other Sri Lankan bowlers sprang into the action, therefore, reducing Afghanistan to 57/5. With half the side back in the hut, Afghans needed something special at the end.
Afghanistan raises hopes…
Captain Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran started the rebuilding job with the sixth wicket partnership. The 64-run stand ignited hopes in Afghan hearts but Pradeep returned to douse them. He first removed Naib by trapping him in front of the stumps and then castled Rashid Khan in the very next over. The resistance ended with Najibullah (43 off 56 balls) getting run out. Malinga returned to disturb the woodwork of Hamid Hassan to cap off a spectacular victory.
