SL vs AFG Review : Sri Lanka out-muscled Afghanistan to get off the mark in the Super 4 stage

Sri Lanka overpowered Afghanistan in the first match of the Super 4 stage at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday, the 3rd of September. It was the Sri Lankan batters who came to the party for their team as they chased Afghanistan’s 175 with four wickets to spare.

The five-time Asia Cup champions made a strong start in the powerplay, which turned into an excellent start after Kusal Mendis punished Rashid Khan for 17 runs in the sixth over. The dangerous first-wicket partnership between Mendis and Pathum Nissanka was broken in the seventh over, but not before they had added a brisk 62-run stand.

Afghanistan wrestled back the momentum after the quick wickets of Nissanka and Charith Asalanka before dismissing Dasun Shanaka cheaply as well. The match was headed toward a tense finale and that is when Danushka Gunathilaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa started the counterattack on the Afghanistan bowlers.

Rajapaksa in particular was in a menacing mood dispatching the Afghani bowlers to all parts of the ground and his job was made easier when Wanindu Hasaranga delivered some crucial boundaries with his quickfire cameo to take Sri Lanka home.

Earlier, Mohammad Nabi’s side were put into bat first by the Sri Lankan skipper after winning the toss. Afghanistan made a rollicking start to their innings, largely due to the ballistic batting from wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was in imperious touch with the bat in hand. The wicket of Hazratullah Zazai in the fifth over did stifle the run flow to an extent, but Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran steadied the ship while scoring freely with a brisk 93-run stand for the second wicket.

Gurbaz fell on the score of 84 while trying to increase the tempo in the latter stages of the innings. His wicket followed by Zadran handed the momentum to the Sri Lankan bowlers, who conceded just 37 runs in the last five overs as Afghanistan finished with 175 runs on the board after some late fireworks from Najibullah Zadran.

Top Performers of the game

Rahmanullah Gurbaz:

It was the Gurbaz show in the first innings as he dominated the proceedings, dismantling the Sri Lankan bowling line-up. The explosive right-handed batter could’ve gone for a spectacular century, but put his team first and departed after playing a phenomenal knock of 84 runs in just 45 deliveries, dispatching six maximums during his stay.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman:

Mujeeb Ur Rahman continued his sensational form in this year’s Asia Cup tournament as his tally went up to seven wickets in the three matches in the tournament. He was impeccable with his bowling in the powerplay and returned with impressive bowling figures of 30/2 in a high-scoring contest.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka left-hander came out to bat in a tricky situation for Sri Lanka and smashed an unbeaten 31 off just 14 deliveries much to the delight of the fans from his country. He hit four fours and a six and was unlucky to get out with SL only 2 runs adrift of a victory.