Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in the T20 World Cup here on Tuesday. Afghanistan made 144 for eight after opting to bat. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Usman Ghani made 28 and 27 respectively. Sri Lanka chased down the target in 18.3 overs with Dhananjaya de Silva scoring 66 not out off 42 balls.
For Sri Lanka, mystery spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was the stand-out bowler with three wickets for 13 runs in four overs. Pacer Lahiru Kumara took two wickets for 30 runs in four overs.
Brief scores: Afghanistan 144/8 in 20 overs (Gurbaz 28, Ghani 27; Kumara 2/30, Hasaranga 3/13).
Sri Lanka 148/4 in 18.3 overs (Dhananjaya de Silva 66 not out; Mujeeb 2/24).
Dasun Shanaka, the captain of Sri Lanka, says that it was a good all-around performance. He credits Dhananjaya de Silva for his superb innings. Adds that they found some consistency in this game and will look to continue that. Mentions that they do not have control over other results, but they will need to win their last game and at a healthy run rate.
Mohammad Nabi, the skipper of Afghanistan, says they were good in the powerplay but could not put pressure on the opponents and therefore could not reach a good score. Mentions that they did not bowl good lines and lengths as there were too many short balls, which allowed the batters to hit the ball. Claims that since they haven’t played their last few games they have not been able to build momentum in the tournament. Says they would have liked to play more and hopefully, they can get the win in the last game.
Wanindu Hasaranga is the Player of the Match for his match figures of 4-0-13-3. He says that they had to play their best cricket in this game after the two losses and he is happy with the performance. Adds that he saw Adam Zampa bowl really well and tried to vary his pace and bowl at the wickets. Mentions that he went for some runs in Perth but he had the confidence to come back. Tells that he knows how to bowl with bigger boundaries.
Sri Lanka will next face England on 5th Nov, 1:30 PM IST.
Afghanistan will next face Australia on 4th Nov, 1:30 PM IST.
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