Afghanistan Knocks Sri Lanka Out Of The Asia Cup
Afghanistan stunned Sri Lanka to 91-run defeat in the Asia Cup 2018, resulting in the knockout of the 5-time Asia Cup winners.
Scorecard:
Afghanistan Innings: 249 all out (50 Overs, RR: 4.98)
Sri Lanka Innings: 158 all out (41.2 Overs, RR: 3.82)
Result: Afghanistan won by 91 runs
Match Highlights:
- All-round Afghanistan crushed Sri Lanka by 91 runs in the Group B coordinate at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Monday. The defeat endured by Sri Lanka knocked them out of the Asia Cup 2018.
- In pursuit, Sri Lanka started losing wickets from the very first over. Despite making good starts, Upul Tharanga (36) and Dhananjaya de Silva (23) failed to cash on their 54-run partnership, and failed to to change their scores into match winning ones.
Crisis under which SriLanka Cricket is going through can be determined that Afghanistan after scoring 249 is declared winner by cricketing experts.
Moreover with half of th wickets fallen down, a demand of taking Test status from SriLanka has also blasted.??? #AsiaCup #SLvAFG
— Arfa Feroz Zake (@ArfaSays_) 17 September 2018
- In the centre overs, captain Angelo Mathews (22) and Thisara Perera (28) played vital roles, yet neglected to help their side go too far. Meanwhile, for Afghans, their bowlers stepped up in the form of Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi each of which claimed 2 wickets each.
- Previously, Afghanistan’s total of 249 runs was made possible by the efforts of their top-order batsman, Rahmat Shah who scored a splendid half century, as Afghanistan put up a fighting total on the board against Sri Lanka, subsequent to winning the toss and picking to bat first.
First SL Captain to lose an ODI series to Zimbabwe
And exited from the #AsiaCup on group stage after losing to Bangladesh and AFGHANISTAN
Best captain ever? Yeah right! ?
— Rukhshan Hameem (@rukhshan) 17 September 2018
- The man of the match was undoubtedly, Rahmat Shah who played a superb innings of 72 runs from 90 balls, as Afghanistan scored a difficult total for a weak Sri Lankan side, on a batting-friendly pitch.
- Every individual contributed from the Afghan side, as openers Ihsanullah Janat (45) and Mohammad Shahzad (34) contributed some important runs, as Afghanistan got off to a good start.
The real story of today’s game was Afghanistan’s batting. Whenever they’ll manage 250, they’ll put most teams under pressure…including teams like India and Pakistan. #AsiaCup
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) 17 September 2018
- A significant first wicket partnership of 57 runs was sewed together by the pair, before Shahzad fell prey to Akila Dananjaya. The center role in the key overs, was played by Hashmatullah Shahidi who stabilised Afghanistan’s innings by scoring 37 runs.
- For Sri Lanka, the only significant performances were from Thisara Perera and Akila Dananjaya who took 5 and two wickets respectively.
Back in 2010, when I first started following Afghanistan, I never dreamed of a time when they’d beat Sri Lanka like it was a totally regular occurrence. One of sport’s all-time success stories. #AsiaCup
— Radio Cricket (@RadioCricket) 17 September 2018
For more updates keep visiting allsportspk
