Sri Lanka beats Afghanistan by two runs thriller and qualify to Super Fours

Mohammad Nabi slammed a 24-ball half-century that nearly helped Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka to the Super 4 stage in the Asia Cup clash in Lahore on Tuesday.

The equation for Afghanistan was pretty straightforward at the innings break when Sri Lanka had set a target of 292 — chase down the target in 37.1 overs or less or miss out on a spot in the Super 4 stage of Asia Cup 2023. 

At one stage, not only did it look like Afghanistan were cruising towards a win, but they also seemed headed to edge Sri Lanka for qualification to the next stage. Having reached 200 in just 26 overs with the loss of just four wickets, Afghanistan needed 92 runs in 11.1 overs to seal their Super 4 spot and it seemed possible with Nabi leading the charge. 

But it all went downhill for them once Nabi was dismissed. Rashid Khan and Najibullah Zadran played fighting knocks to bring the game down to the wire, but with three needed off one ball to seal the qualification, Mujeeb holed out off Dhananjaya de Silva.

Though Afghanistan could still have qualified if they hit a six off the next three balls, the Sri Lankan off-spinner sent back Fazalhaq Farooqi three balls later to help Sri Lanka complete a victory by two runs.

Kusal Mendis' 92 and a late 64-run stand between Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana had put Sri Lanka in the driver's seat in Lahore after they opted to bat first in the crucial Asia Cup fixture. 

Kasun Rajitha then went on to establish Sri Lanka's dominance by sending back the openers for single-digit scores inside the first five overs. The left-field move to push Gulbadin Naib to No.3 gave Afghanistan quick runs, but he didn't last long, falling leg before wicket to Theekshana for a 16-ball 22.

It was the Rahmat Shah-Hashmatullah Shahidi stand that revived Afghanistan's run chase and in tremendous fashion.

The duo took the attack to the Sri Lankan bowlers, keeping up with the rate that was needed for them to qualify. The 71-run stand came in 63 balls and gave Afghanistan a decent base. 

Nabi walked in at No.6 with the fall of Shah, dismissed by Rajitha in the 19th over. Nabi tore into the Lankan attack, racing to 18 off 13 balls before taking on Matheesha Pathirana for a six and two fours in the 23rd over. 

Nabi went on to compile his fifty off just 24 balls, making it the fastest half-century by an Afghanistan player in ODIs. The record was previously held by Mujeeb ur Rahman for his 26-ball fifty against Pakistan last month in Colombo. 

When Nabi fell for 65 in the 27th over, Sri Lanka sensed an opportunity to inch back into the game. The balance had tilted Afghanistan's way during the scintillating partnership between Nabi and Shahid, the duo adding 80 runs off a mere 47 balls.