In the 31st match of the CWC 2023, Afghanistan pulled off yet another surprise by beating the seemingly “better” side of Sri Lanka. The Afghans have defeated the Lankans by 6 wickets to keep their semifinal hope alive and well.
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At the MCA Stadium of Mumbai, Sri Lanka’s mediocre score of 245 was not going to hold back the Afghan train. Coming to the crease first, Sri Lanka faced some early blows, and their run rate was kept under control by the Afghan bowlers. Fazalhaq Farooqi (4/34) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/38) managed to take out critical wickets when required. Under such pressure, Angelo Mathews’s 23 runs and tailender Maheesh Theekshanas’ 29 runs gave Sri Lanka a respectable 241 runs to defend.
Under the floodlights, the Afghans started off badly as they lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz without opening the scorebook. However, Zardan (39) and Rahmat Shah (62) quickly developed an ideal partnership to help sail the Afghans to victory. After 45.2 Overs, Afghanistan surpassed the 242 runs target and registered their 3rd win of the World Cup. Sri Lankan bowling & fielding were highly off the mark tonight.
Afghanistan continue their charge towards a top-four finish in #CWC23 with a stupendous win in Pune 👊#AFGvSL 📝: https://t.co/f6KGeAIahL pic.twitter.com/cCmw8unwDy
— ICC (@ICC) October 30, 2023
Afghanistan has made history in this World Cup. Even before the World Cup, they were mostly unnoticed by the cricket analysts. However, they’ve so far defeated England, Pakistan & now, Sri Lanka. Currently, Afghanistan even has a realistic shot at securing a seat in the Semifinal as they stand one spot below Australia in the 5th place. Fazalhaq Farooqi earned the Player of the Match award for his brilliant bowling performance. On November 3rd, Afghanistan will play against another rising star, the Netherlands. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will have to face the most dominant force in this World Cup, India. Sri Lanka is now behind Afghanistan on the point table at the 6th spot.
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