Asia cup 2023, Sri Lanka beats Afghanistan by 2 runs, advances to super 4

One of the most thrilling matches in the 2023 Asia Cup unfolded as Sri Lanka, the defending champions, narrowly defeated Afghanistan by just 2 runs to secure a spot in the Super 4 stage. It was a nail-biting contest where Afghanistan came very close to triumphing over Sri Lanka but crumbled under the pressure of Net Run Rate (NRR) calculations, losing all 10 wickets.

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first. Their opening duo of Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka made a promising start, putting together a 63-run partnership. Gulbadin Naib made the breakthrough by dismissing Karunaratne, and later Nissanka also fell to Gulbadin’s bowling.

Kusal Mendis anchored Sri Lanka’s innings while wickets tumbled at the other end. Mendis played a courageous innings, scoring 92 runs but fell short of a well-deserved century as he was run out by Rashid Khan, who also claimed 2 wickets with his spin. Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage then combined for a crucial 64-run partnership for the 8th wicket.

Gulbadin Naib posed a significant challenge to the Sri Lankan batters, taking four wickets.

In pursuit of a target of 292, Afghanistan faced an early setback with their openers dismissed for just 27 runs in the first 5 overs, courtesy of Kasun Rajitha. Matheesha Pathirana removed Gulbadin for 22. However, Rahmat Shah (45) and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (59) formed a promising partnership, steadying the Afghan innings. Kasun Rajitha played a pivotal role for Sri Lanka, taking four wickets and breaking the crucial Shah and Shahidi partnership by dismissing Shah.

Then came a remarkable innings from Mohammed Nabi, who scored 65 runs and brought Afghanistan close to victory. However, Nabi’s dismissal by Theekshana added a twist to the game. Afghanistan had no choice but to push for the win to qualify, and Rashid Khan displayed his batting brilliance, scoring 27 runs with three crucial boundaries to secure their spot in the Super 4 stage.

Unfortunately, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooqi couldn’t score, and Afghanistan was bowled out for 289 runs, resulting in Sri Lanka clinching victory by a narrow margin of 2 runs and advancing to the Super 4 stage.