Sri Lanka begin Asia Cup Super 4 with solid win
Asitha Fernando claimed the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz - AFP
Sri Lanka got off to a winning start in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup, and earned some redemption after their defeat to Afghanistan earlier in the tournament. The victory was set up by an all-round batting show that helped them chase down 175 with five balls to spare.
With a highest individual score of just 36, Sri Lanka still got over the line comfortably thanks to cameos right through. The final nail in the coffin was Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s 14-ball 31. With 49 needed off the last fiver overs, Rajapaksa went 4, 4, 6 against Naveen ul Haq and brought the equation down. He stayed put till just two were needed and all but ensured that Sri Lanka got over the line.
The tone was set by the openers, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis who put on a 62-run stand. The powerplay was utilised well by the duo with the latter also going after Rashid Khan, sweeping him for two sixes and taking 17 off his first over. While the duo fell in the space of nine balls, Sri Lanka had some good fortune coming their way.
Rashid did not review an LBW call against Gunathilaka which later showed three reds. He had an appeal upheld against Dasun Shanaka only for the review by the batter showing that the impact was outside off. Gunathilaka was also dropped, as was Rajapaksa, which all allowed them to stay in the hunt despite losing wickets at regular intervals. Wanindu Hasaranga struck three boundaries eventually to help bring the chase to a quick end. The reprieves were reminiscent of what had transpired in the first innings.
Afghanistan’s batting could have sunk early had Gunathilaka not committed a gaffe at the long-on boundary. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was on 8 off 6 when Gunathilaka stepped onto the boundary after taking a clean catch. Instead of a wicket it turned out to be Gurbaz’s second six on the trot against Maheesh Theekshana having already cleared the onside fence. Even as Hazratullah Zazai was bowled after a laborious thirteen, this reprieve turned out to be very costly for Sri Lanka.
He made them pay dearly, putting on a 93-run stand with Ibrahim Zadran for the second wicket. While Zadran only managed to drop anchor on a pitch that was slightly two-paced, Gurbaz was able to find the boundaries at will. Some of them came through meaty blows down the wicket or through the scoops while a few more came off the edges, all of them racing away to the shorter boundaries. He brought up his fifty off just 22 balls and hit six sixes in all to finish with a 45-ball 84. Along with Zadran, he gave the innings a fillip when the 13th and 14th over bowled by Karunratne and Dasun Shanaka were taken for 16 and 21 runs setting up a big finish.
Both Gurbaz and Zadran were caught while searching for boundaries, but Najibullah Zadran played a cameo to keep the innings flowing. However, the innings stuttered once more after Najibullah was run out and Mohammad Nabi was caught and bowled by Theekshana. The wicket burst meant that Sri Lanka gave away only 37 runs in the final five overs despite Rashid Khan smoking a six in the final over to spoil the bowling figures. It eventually proved to be a crucial difference maker in the eventual outcome.
Cricbuzz
| Scoreboard | |
| Afghanistan Innings Hazratullah Zazai b Madushanka 13 Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Hasaranga b Fernando 84 Ibrahim Zadran c Fernando b Madushanka 40 Najibullah Zadran run out 17 Mohammad Nabi c and b Theekshana 01 Rashid Khan run out 09 Karim Janat not out 00 Extras (lb1, nb1, w9) 11 Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 175 Did not bat: Samiullah Shinwari, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Zazai, 4.5ov), 2-139 (Gurbaz, 15.3ov), 3-151 (I. Zadran, 17.2ov), 4-166 (Nabi, 18.4ov), 5-166 (N. Zadran, 18.5ov), 6-175 (Khan, 19.6ov) Bowling: Maheesh Theekshana 4-0-29-1, Asitha Fernando 4-0-34-1, Dilshan Madushanka 4-0-37-2, Wanindu Hasaranga 4-0-23-0, Chamika Karunaratne 2-0-29-0, Dasun Shanaka 2-0-22-0 Sri Lanka Innings Pathum Nissanka c Gurbaz b Rahman 35 Kusal Mendis c I. Zadran b Naveen 36 Charith Asalanka b Nabi 08 Danushka Gunathilaka b Khan 33 Dasun Shanaka c N. Zadran b Rahman 10 Bhanuka Rajapaksa b Naveen 31 Wanindu Hasaranga not out 16 Chamika Karunaratne not out 05 Extras (lb2, w3) 05 Total (6 wickets; 19.1 overs) 179 Did not bat: Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka Fall of wickets: 1-62 (Mendis, 6.3ov), 2-80 (Nissanka, 8.6ov), 3-94 (Asalanka, 11.3ov), 4-119 (Shanaka, 14.1ov), 5-151 (Gunathilaka, 16.4ov), 6-174 (Rajapaksa, 18.3ov) Bowling: Fazalhaq Farooqi 3.1-0-34-0, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 4-0-30-2, Naveen-ul-Haq 4-0-40-2. Rashid Khan 4-0-39-1, Mohammad Nabi 4-0-34-1 |