Afghanistan Makes History, Asia’s New Cricket Kings!
Afghanistan has made history as the new ‘king’ of Asian cricket, clinching their first international title by winning the Emerging Asia Cup! Darwish Rasooli’s team achieved this milestone, marking the nation’s first-ever international cricket championship.
Tonight, on Sunday, Afghanistan faced Sri Lanka in the Emerging Asia Cup final at the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium in Oman. Afghanistan triumphed over the Lankans by 7 wickets, with Sadikullah leading the way.
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first, scoring 133 runs for 7 wickets. In response, Afghanistan chased down the target in 18.1 overs with a 7-wicket victory. Sadikullah scored another fifty and was named Player of the Series.
In the past five editions of the Emerging Asia Cup, Sri Lanka had won the title twice. Despite Sri Lanka’s strong history, Afghanistan entered this final as favorites, reaching it unbeaten, having defeated both Bangladesh and India along the way.
Defeating Sri Lanka fueled a national celebration in Afghanistan. Once a war-torn country, Afghanistan now stands as an emerging cricket powerhouse. Beating teams like India and Pakistan is no small feat!
Afghanistan gave it their all to claim the championship, with Sadikullah Atal leading from the front. Consistently strong in the previous four matches, he scored 83, 95, 52, and 83, and added an unbeaten 55 today.
Throughout the tournament, Sadikullah amassed 368 runs at an average of 122.67 with an impressive strike rate of 147.49. His 55 off 55 balls in the final was slightly conservative but still dominant.
However, Afghanistan lost a wicket on the very first ball of their chase, as Zubaid Akbari got out on a golden duck. Sadikullah and Darwish Rasooli stabilized the innings, scoring 43 runs in the powerplay. Rasooli made 24 off 20 balls before getting out.
Sadikullah then partnered with Karim Janat, taking the team to 95 runs by the 15th over. Janat was dismissed after scoring 33 from 27 balls. Mohammad Ishaq added a quick 16* off 6 balls to secure the win, with Sadikullah reaching his fifty in style.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had a rough start, losing 4 wickets for just 15 runs in 4.2 overs. Bilal Sami and Ghazafar dismantled the top order. However, Shahan Archage fought back, scoring 64 off 47 balls, while Nimesh scored 23 and Pawan contributed 20.
Mohammad Ghazafar was named Man of the Match for taking 2 wickets for 14 runs, while Bilal Sami claimed 3 wickets.
